^  I- 


CHERRY 


BROTHERS 

PUBLISHERS  NEW  YORK  &  LONDON 


Copyright,  1903,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rights  reserved. 
Published  October,  1903 


•161 


To  the  diligent  and  industrious  members 
of  the  class  of  1893  at  Nassau  Hall;  also  to 
the  idler  spirits  who  wasted  the  Golden 
Hours  of  Youth  in  profitless  playing  of  toss- 
the-ball?  and  even  to  those  more  dissolute 
ones  who  risked  the  tutor's  detection  at 
pitch-the-penny  and  carved  their  names  on 
Adam's  table— in  brief,  to  all  of  that  happy 
class  is  dedicated  this  heroic  tale  of  the  days 
when  Commencement  came  in  September* 


XV. 


CONTENTS 


Mr.  Sudgeberry 3 

The  Confession  of  Love  .     .  23 

The  Toast 35 

Majesty  of  the  Human   In 
tellect     43 

The  Note 56 

The  Farewell      .     .     .     .     .  63 

The  Interview 70 

The  Journey  ......  81 

The  Stranger 88 

The  Carouse 101 

Mr.     Sudgeberry's     Reckless 

Humor 114 

The  Dogs  of  War    ....  124 

The  Double  Villain  ....  136 
There    Came    One   Shrieking 

"Justice!" 146 

Mr.      Sudgeberry     and      the 

Cherry  Ribbons   .     .     .  159 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Cherry        •••««••      Frontispiece 

"  Hoar  After  Hoar  We  Would 

Sit" Facing  p.  36 

"Miss  Sylvia  Rose  to  Her 
Feet  With  a  Slight 
Scream "  ....  "  160 


CROSS  the  most  vital  precincts  of 
the  mind  a  flippant  sprite  of  mem 
ory  will  sometimes  skip,  to  the 
dismay  of  all  philosophy.  So  it 
was  with  me  no  longer  ago  than  last  night; 
for,  as  I  sat  engaged  in  the  composition  of  a 
treatise  upon  a  subject  worthy  of  the  pro- 
foundest  concentration,  there  suddenly  flut 
tered  before  my  mental  eye  some  cherry- 
colored  ribbons;  and,  quite  inexplicably,  at 
3 


CHERRY 

the  same  time,  it  became  clear  to  me  that 
the  most  charming  morning  of  my  life  was 
that  sunshiny  one,  in  \  762,  when  Miss  Sylvia 
Gray  and  I  went  walking* 

It  may  be  there  are  some  who  will  declare 
that  an  aging  person  would  do  better  to  get 
forward  with  his  treatise  than  to  waste  the 
treasure  of  his  talent  upon  a  narrative  of 
the  follies  of  youth;  but  this  I  refute.  The 
flicker  of  cherry  color  having  caused  my  pen 
to  wander  and  me  to  have  dreams  all  night 
— I  never  dream — what  better  than  to  seek 
relief  by  setting  down  the  bewildering  cir 
cumstances  connected  with  the  ribbons?  Let 
me  say  that  I  have  found  through  many  ex 
periences  that  writing  out  a  thing  works  to 
lighten  the  burden  of  it,  as  a  full -worded 
person  must  be  bled  of  his  words,  or  they 
coagulate  within  him  and  choke  the  veins  of 
his  mind,  a  condition  which,  in  my  younger 
days,  was  often  near  bringing  me  to  the  very 
italics  of  suffering* 

Very  early  on  the  sunshiny  morning  to 
which  allusion  has  been  made,  I  found  Miss 
4 


CHERRY 

Sylvia  at  her  gate,  waiting  to  take  the  walk 
she  had  promised  me*  It  was  then,  even 
before  we  set  out,  that  I  noticed  the  ribbons 
she  wore  that  day.  The  fact  that  I  remem 
ber  a  detail  of  this  insignificance  so  great  a 
number  of  years  after  is  the  more  uncommon 
because  I  do  not  think  that  at  the  time  I 
particularly  noticed  the  ribbons,  my  mind 
being  occupied  with  considerations  of  the 
lady's  mental  and  moral  attributes*  How 
ever,  it  may  not  be  gainsaid  that  this  twin 
kling  of  bright  colors  seemed  to  me  most  be 
fitting  her  appearance. 

I  had  arrived  at  my  father's  house  in  the 
country  but  two  days  before,  repairing  thith 
er  upon  finishing  my  third  year  of  study  at 
Nassau  Hall,  and  I  had  proceeded  at  once  to 
renew  my  pleasing  acquaintance  with  Miss 
Gray,  an  acquaintance  begun  in  childhood 
on  account  of  our  parents  being  neighbors, 
and  continued  later  because  of  various  be- 
tokenings  of  a  feeling  of  growing  admiration 
and  reciprocal  regard,  clearly  apparent,  I 
think,  between  the  maiden  and  myself.  There 
5 


CHERRY 

was  another  lady  of  the  neighborhood.  Miss 
Amelia  Robbins,  who  attracted  me  by  the 
delicacy  of  her  appreciation  of  my  atten 
tions,  but  at  the  time  of  which  I  speak  my 
greater  pleasure  was  in  Miss  Sylvia's  com 
pany — I  might  put  it:  my  infinitely  greater 
pleasure. 

In  candor,  I  hope  that  I  am  justified  in 
stating  that  certain  qualities  I  was  admitted 
to  possess  must  have  appealed  to  her  liking, 
a  something  thoughtful  and  philosophic,  a 
leaning  toward  theologic  earnestness,  added 
to  a  contempt  for  the  gayeties  of  the  world, 
mingled  with  a  particular  cautiousness  and 
a  nice  severity  of  habit — which  attributes,  I 
believe  will  be  confessed,  are  unusual  in  a 
youth  of  nineteen.  Moreover,  my  achieve 
ments  in  the  classics  and  mathematics  under 
Dr.  Finley  must  have  excited  in  her  the 
warmest  feelings  of  respect,  such  attainments 
being  out  of  the  reach  of  women.  There  may 
be  those  to  cry  out  that  I  claim  much  for 
my  character  at  so  early  a  period  of  my 
career,  but  it  is  not  I  who  originate  the  claim. 
6 


CHERRY 

I  had  the  heartiest  assurance  of  my  mother 
and  other  females  of  my  family  that  these 
things  were  sot  andt  since  they  have  always 
shown  themselves  to  be  persons  of  great 
judgment  and  verity,  I  can  do  no  less  than 
to  accept  their  opinion,  hoping  that,  if  there 
be  any  immodesty  in  my  so  doing,  it  may 
be  attributable  to  the  fondness  of  their  re 
gard. 

In  respect  to  my  feeling  for  Miss  Gray,  I 
have  little  leaning  to  outward  appearance  as 
a  test  of  true  worth,  yet  I  will  never  attempt 
to  deny  that  I  found  some  attraction  in  the 
lady's  uncommon  likeliness  of  face  and  form, 
and  in  the  gracefulness  of  her  bearing*  What 
must  account  for  my  graver  consideration, 
however,  is  the  fact  that,  although  exhibiting 
a  taste  for  frivolity  which  disturbed  me  some 
what,  I  believed  her,  underneath,  to  be  of  an 
exceedingly  serious  character.  She  at  all 
times  manifested  a  ready  sympathy  with  a 
mind  investigating  the  deeper  things  of  life; 
she  had  a  quick  perception  of  the  beauties  of 
the  classics  —  when  translated  and  pointed 
7 


CHERRY 

out  to  her — and  a  suddeness  of  insight  con 
cerning  the  foibles  of  those  partisans  who 
advocate  pernicious  liberality  in  divers  ques 
tions — when  the  two  sides  of  the  debate  had 
been  explained  to  her. 

I  have  remarked  the  same  quality  in  all 
the  agreeable  women  I  have  ever  known* 
Miss  Amelia  Robbins  is  to  this  day  an  almost 
perfect  example  of  it* 

But  I  digress  from  the  sunshiny  morning. 
After  greeting  me  as  I  joined  her*  "  Where 
shall  we  go?"  cried  Miss  Gray* 

"  Miss  Sylvia/'  I  made  reply*  as  she  de 
scended  the  steps  from  the  gate*  "it  matters 
little  whither  we  betake  ourselves  this  morn- 
ing,  for-" 

44  Why?"  she  interrupted,  at  the  same  time 
casting  down  her  eyes  and  speaking  in  a  low 
voice.  I  remember  thinking  her  manner 
strange,  and  it  still  seems  so  to  me.  There 
were  many  incomprehensible  things  about 
this  young  lady,  as  must  be  luminously  set 
forth  ere  the  conclusion  of  my  narrative. 
8 


CHERRY 

"Because/'  I  said,  briskly,  "to  him  who 
possesses  a  true  understanding  of  the  art 
of  conversation,  time  and  place  count  for 
little/' 

"Then  why  should  we  walk  at  all?"  she 
asked* 

"Why,  indeed?"  said  I,  pausing;  but 
straightway  she  went  on,  even  quickening 
her  steps  instead  of  stopping;  so,  without 
more  ado,  I  followed. 

"Shall  we  go  to  the  brook,  Mr.  Sudge- 
berry?"  she  asked,  as  we  reached  the  lane. 
"Shall  we  cross  the  fields?"  Not  waiting 
for  my  assent,  she  climbed  the  stile,  and  we 
set  off  toward  the  brook. 

"How  glorious  it  is  to  be  stirring  so  early!" 
says  she,  presently.  "See  the  dew  shining 
on  the  cobwebs  in  the  grass,  and  hark  to  the 
birds  in  the  grove.  La!  I  could  dance  for 
the  very  gayety  of  it!"  And  she  began  to 
sing  a  little  song. 

It  had  ever  been  my  custom  to  reply  to 
such  outbursts  of  Miss  Gray's  with  some 
thoughtful  sentiment,  delivered  in  a  serious 
9 


CHERRY 

tone,  as  tending  to  check  (or  moderate)  the 
ebulliencies  of  her  disposition,  hence  I  an 
swered,  walking  the  while  with  quiet  dig 
nity: 

"How  often  do  we  unthinkingly  pass  by 
lessons  which  humble  nature  sets  forth  for 
our  improvement!  Here  in  the  lowly  cob 
web  we  see  an  allegory,  if  we  be  not  too 
heedless.  What  lesson  do  you  obtain  from 
it,  Miss  Gray?" 

My  purpose  was  effected  at  once,  for  the 
song,  which  was  an  idle  one,  with  no  moral 
to  it,  ceased,  and  she  became  all  interest  and 
sympathy. 

"What  lesson,  Mr.  Sudgeberry?"  she  in 
quired,  gravely. 

"Why,"  I  answered,  "the  lesson  of  in 
dustry,  of  perseverance!" 

"Yes,  indeed,  Mr.  Sudgeberry.  I  see;  the 
spider's  industry.  How  appropriate!" 

I  looked  upon  her  approvingly,  and  con 
tinued: 

"See  how  laboriously  he  has  builded  him 
self  a  place  of  refuge  and  rest  for  his  weary 
JO 


CHERRY 

head,  a  retreat  where  he  may  raise  and  shel 
ter  his  young,  and — " 

"Surely,"  she  interrupted,  "I  have  read 
somewhere  that  the  females  do  that/' 

Quite  confounded  for  the  moment,  I  walked 
on  in  silence,  whereupon  she  began  to  sing 
again*  Then,  not  because  the  sound  of  her 
voice  was  distasteful  to  me  (although  I  have 
no  great  patience  with  music  of  any  sort),  but 
because  I  regarded  the  theme  of  the  song  as 
unworthy  to  occupy  time  which  might  be 
spent  in  profitable  interchange  of  ideas,  I 
began  a  modest  dissertation  upon  the  place 
allegory  has  occupied  in  history*  "Oh,"  I 
concluded,  "how  easily  it  puts  to  shame 
the  baser  uses  of  fiction!  How  unworthy 
the  time  thrown  away  upon  the  study  of 
poetry  —  except  the  classics  —  compared  to 
that  which  is  enriched  by  the  reading  of 
allegories,  great  moral  truths  tending  ever  to 
our  improvement  in  diligence  and  learning, 
and  conceived  by  the  loftiest  intellects  for 
our  advancement  and  profit!" 

Our  walk  had  fatigued  Miss  Gray,  for  at 
II 


GMERRY 

this  moment  she  exclaimed,  with  an  accent 
of  relief:  "How  beautiful,  Mr.  Sudgeberry! 
Here  we  are  at  the  brook/'  and  sat  down  in 
the  grass. 

After  ascertaining  that  the  ground  was  not 
damp,  the  sun  having  by  this  time  sucked 
up  all  the  dew,  I  sat  down  beside  her.  "We 
were  upon  a  knoll  which  ran  down  to  the 
little  stream,  and,  shaded  by  a  group  of 
great  trees,  our  position  was  not  unpleasant. 
The  spot  was  remote  from  the  customary 
haunts  of  the  youth  of  the  neighborhood,  a 
fact  upon  which  I  considered  us  both  subject 
for  felicitation,  the  more  so  because  we  ap 
peared  to  have  escaped  the  attendance  of  an 
intolerable  fellow,  William  Fentriss,  who  was 
everlastingly  lolling  at  or  near  the  Grays' 
domicile.  Indeed,  I  had  been  under  some 
apprehension  that  he  might  spy  us  as  we 
crossed  the  fields,  and  join  us,  forcing  upon 
us  his  idle  talk,  which  had  no  capacity  to  be 
aught  but  the  veriest  nonsense,  utterly  un 
intelligible  to  an  intellect  concerned  with  any 
thing  of  weight  or  worth. 
12 


CHERRY 

This  impertinent,  though  never  my  com 
panion,  was  my  fellow  -  student  at  Nassau 
Hall,  being  one  year  beneath  me;  and  in  that 
I  could  treat  him  with  the  superiority  I  felt* 
He  was  much  about  taverns,  fretted  when  a 
horse  fell  sick,  loved  dogs,  music,  and  the 
new  poets;  and  at  Princeton  lavished  those 
golden  hours  of  youth  in  wanton  idling  or 
profitless  visiting  with  the  liveliest  young 
ladies  of  the  surrounding  country*  Nor  could 
I  understand  how  he  was  tolerated  by  women 
of  tone,  refinement,  or  cultivation,  being,  as 
he  was,  always  grossly  overdressed  to  the 
extreme  point  of  every  changing  fashion;  but 
even  the  most  impeccable  model  of  female 
decorum  and  charm  called  this  rattle  "fas 
cinating  "(!)  "  handsome  "(I)  and,  to  my  amaze 
ment,  proved  ready  with  a  gracious  smile 
whenever  he  came  near. 

It  was  impossible  to  comprehend  how  Miss 
Gray  could  find  his  conversation  worth  hear 
ing,  or  how  she  could  permit  his  continued 
presence  near  her;  and  I  judged  the  present 
time  to  be  appropriate  for  the  venturing  of  a 
13 


CHERRY 

few  remarks  which  might  indicate,  indirectly 
and  delicately,  her  error,  and  at  the  same 
time  point  out  the  preferable  merits  of  true 
worth  as  subject  for  her  esteem*  I  did  not 
wish  to  make  her  very  unhappy,  yet  I  hoped 
for  a  few  signs  of  contrition* 

Therefore,  after  turning  over  the  matter 
in  my  mind  and  thinking  up  with  care  the 
opening  sentences,  as  well  as  the  general 
trend  of  the  conversation  as  it  should  be 
directed,  I  began  as  follows: 

44  Oh,  how  oft,"  said  I  — for  I  felt  there 
could  be  no  harm  in  a  somewhat  poetical 
phrase  or  two — "how  oft  in  the  lot  of  man 
does  he  encounter  circumstances  and  things 
which  leave  him  speechless  with  amazement, 
upon  which  there  is  no  profit  in  pondering, 
and  as  a  final  dictum  upon  which  there  can 
be  no  other  than  the  simple  words,  'I  do  not 
understand!' " 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  of  that,"  agreed 
Miss  Gray,  looking  thoughtfully  at  the  buckle 
of  my  shoe* 

"Take,  as  an  instance,"  I  continued,  "an 
14 


CHERRY 

anomaly  furnished  by  human  nature.  How 
frequently  do  we  see  true  merit  neglected,  or 
even  despised,  for  the  sake  of  those  more 
gaudy  allurements  which  lie  but  upon  the  sur 
face!  If  it  were  given  to  me  to  consult  an 
oracle  (I  have  explained  to  you  this  usage 
of  the  ancients,  I  think),  there  is  one  question 
I  would  propound  to  it  before  any  other,  and 
that  is:  'Why  do  ladies  sometimes  prefer  the 
idle  and  superficial  to  those  from  whom  they 
might  derive  lasting  benefits  of  a  serious  and 
learned  nature?'  A  spectacle  I  have  some 
times  observed,  one  which  has  astonished  me 
beyond  all  others,  is  that  of  young  females, 
apparently  sane  and  desirous  of  improve 
ment,  listening  with  seeming  pleasure  to  the 
conversation  of  the  light  and  sprightly — ay! 
to  all  appearances  enjoying  the  society  of 
mere  men  of  fashion,  who  pour  into  their  ears 
pernicious  extravagances,  pitiful  nonsensical- 
ities,  and  flippant  nothings,  while  philosoph 
ical,  studious,  and  pious  youths  who  are  inca 
pable  of  lightness,  and  who  would  scorn  to 
utter  a  word  unfraught  with  earnest  sobriety 
J5 


CHERRY 

or  profotmdest  learning,  are  allowed  to  re 
main  unnoticed  I" 

Here,  I  judged,  the  tone  of  my  expres 
sions  demanded  more  than  ordinary  ad 
dress;  so,  with  proper  gravity  and  deliber 
ation,  I  reached  otrt  to  take  her  hand, 
which  lay  close  to  mine  upon  the  grass; 
but,  encountering  a  spider-nest  in  my  prog 
ress  toward  it,  the  mother  -  spider  issued 
from  the  interior  of  her  mansion  and  bit 
me  on  the  thumb,  which  I  was  forced  to 
place  in  my  mouth  in  order  to  extract  her 
poison.  Nevertheless,  it  could  be  discerned 
that  my  argument  had  not  been  with 
out  its  effect  upon  Miss  Sylvia,  for  she 
cast  down  her  eyes  and  turned  her  face 
away. 

"Let  us  now  consider/'  I  was  beginning 
to  continue,  approaching  my  climax — when 
we  suffered  an  interruption  of  the  most  an 
noying  description. 

From  a  group  of  trees  on  our  right  came  the 
sounds  of  a  guitar,  strummed  in  preliminary 
chords,  and  then  a  man's  voice,  the  airy, 


CHERRY 

impertinent  quality  of  which  I  was  at  no 
loss  to  recognize,  though  the  singer  was  hid 
den  from  our  sight,  buzzed  out  the  following 
ditty,  to  which  we  were  compelled  to  listen 
willy-nilly: 

"  "When  Beauty  wanders  far  from  home 

For  a  Jane-time  ramble, 
Then  Cupid  starts  to  ambush  her 
At  a  rapid  amble. 

"  Sylvia,  Sylvia,  turn  not  away; 

Hark  to  the  words  I'd  be  saying. 
Sylvia,  Sylvia,  Love  lurks  all  day 
"Where'er  your  feet  go  a-straying! 

"  No  fancy  could  depict  what  charms 

Always  must  surround  her, 
Till  Cupid  heralds  them  abroad 
When  he's  caught  and  bound  her. 

"  Sylvia,  Sylvia,  never  berate! 

List  to  the  song  I'd  be  sighing. 
Sylvia,  Sylvia,  Love  lies  in  wait, 
Ever  his  nets  for  you  trying." 


"So!"  I  exclaimed,  with  great  contempt, 
at  the  conclusion*    "  What  vain  pretension  to 
elegance  is  disclosed  in  the  imperfections  of 
17 


CHERRY 

the  last  stanza!  One  does  not  'sigh  '  a  song, 
but  sings  it.  'Tis  pulled  in  with  a  rope  for 
the  rhyme!" 

At  this  moment  William  Fentriss  stepped 
into  view  from  behind  the  trunk  of  a  great 
tree,  and,  the  guitar  swung  over  his  shoulder 
by  a  silken  ribbon,  came  toward  us  with  the 
easy  swagger  and  confident  manner  of  which 
true  impudence  is  invariably  master.  Such 
cheerful  insolence,  combined  with  greater 
foppery  of  attire,  mine  eyes  have  never  be 
held. 

"Nay,  nay!"  cries  he.  ''A  song  to  cruel 
Lady  Sylvia  must  needs  be  sighed.  Take 
my  word,  Mr.  Sudgeberry,  'tis  the  only  way 
to  find  half  their  favor.  Sigh,  sir,  be  humil 
ity  itself,  and  you  will  win  half  of  a  lady's 
heart." 

"And  the  other  half,  Mr.  Fentriss?"  smiled 
Miss  Gray.  I  could  not  understand  her 
smiling,  after  what  I  had  said  to  her. 

"Oh,  for  the  other  half,  you'd  best  take 
a  stick  and  beat  her,"  he  answered,  laugh 
ing.  "But,  until  you  have  won  the  first 


CHERRY 

portion,  constantly  prostrate  yourself  at  her 
feet/' 

With  that  he  deliberately  flung  himself  on 
the  ground  within  an  inch  of  Miss  Gray's 
shoes,  and  marvellous  clumsy  I  thought  he 
looked* 

"And  sigh/'  says  he.  And  he  fetches  a 
sigh.  Never  have  I  seen  an  uninvited  person 
appear  more  invited. 

After  a  pause,  "Such  gayety,  Mr.  Sudge- 
berry!"  says  he.  At  this  I  showed  the  scorn 
I  felt  by  so  stern  and  commanding  a  frown 
that  he  had  surely  been  confounded  and  left 
in  pitiable  consternation,  but  Miss  Gray  in 
tervened. 

"What  a  pretty  day!"  sh'e  instantly  ex 
claimed. 

"/ndeed,"  I  was  replying,  "it—" 

I  achieved  only  so  far  when  the  impudent 
varlet  took  the  words  out  of  my  mouth,  as 
though  the  lady's  remark  were  addressed  to 
him. 

"A  morning  of  the  gods  I"  he  cried.  "A 
perfect  day,  no  sweeter  ever  dawned.  Pearls 
19 


CHERRY 

and  emeralds  tinder  foot,  amethystine  clouds 
on  sapphire  overhead  —  a  jewel  of  a  day! 
What  wonder  nymphs  stroll  abroad!  I  leave 
it  to  Mr*  Sudgeberry  if  a  woman  is  a  woman 
on  such  a  morning*  The  poorest  of  the  sex 
becomes  a  divinity  in  these  airs.  And  what 
does  the  fairest  appear " — with  a  look  at 
Miss  Gray  which  methought  mast  have  near 
made  her  buffet  him — "when  the  meanest  of 
her  sisters  is  so  transfigured?  Queen  Titania 
herself,  faith!'' 

"In  that  case,  sir."  I  said,  loftily,  "she  has 
small  use  for  flatterers  and  idlers;  queens,  if 
they  have  been  brought  up  properly,  discov 
ering  early  in  life  how  to  detect  such  gen 
try.  Queens,  sir,"  I  repeated  with  dignity, 
"queens,  having  sober  lessons  to  learn,  far 
prefer  employment  in  useful  and  improving 
conversations  with  persons  of  sense  and  breed 
ing.  Queen  Titania,  rest  assured,  would  have 
small  interest  in  the  cheap  figure  of  speech 
which  would  turn  nature  into  a  goldsmith's 
shop." 

"No,"  said  he;  "you  would  have  her  still 
20 


CHERRY 

in  love  with  the  gentleman  with  the  ass's 
head!"  And  he  burst  into  a  mannerless 
guffaw. 

Here  Miss  Gray  rose  in  haste,  and  an 
nounced  that  she  must  be  returning,  as  the 
sun  would  soon  be  too  warm  for  pleasure  on 
the  homeward  stroll.  I  marked  with  indig 
nation  that  our  unwelcome  companion  pro 
posed  to  accompany  us,  and  this  purpose  he 
had  the  effrontery  to  carry  out,  I  walking 
in  intense  and  biting  silence,  he  chattering  as 
easily  as  though  he  had  not  thoroughly  dis 
graced  his  bringing-up  in  a  dozen  ways,  while 
he  made  such  speeches  to  the  lady  as  I 
thought  must  have  undoubtedly  called  forth 
a  chilling  rebuke;  but  none  came,  to  my  sore 
regret. 

When  we  reached  her  gate,  Miss  Sylvia 
turned  and  bade  us  good-morning,  with  a 
little  nod  to  each. 

"Such  a  pleasant  stroll  you've  given 
me!" 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "to  the  brook." 

"Was  it  not!"  said  William.  "I  was  but 
21 


CHERRY 

a  little  way  behind  you.  The  walk  from 
the  brook  has  been  too  warm  for  you,  Mr. 
Sudgeberry?  We  must  go  again/' 

"We!"  I  exclaimed.  "Wei" 

"  Good  -morning,  gentlemen!"  cried  Miss 
Gray,  and  she  ran  into  the  house. 


T 


THE 
CONFESSION  OF  LOVE 


HE  events  I  have  described  may 
be  accepted  as  a  sample  of  what 
took  place  throughout  the  sum- 

men     Time   and   again,  I   would 

no  sooner  have  Miss  Gray's  com 
pany  to  myself  and  open  an  instructive  con 
versation,  or  begin  the  deduction  of  some 
truth  for  her  benefit,  than  that  graceless 
fellow  would  pop  up  and  hurl  his  nonsensi- 
calities  upon  us.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that 
he  often  succeeded  in  cutting  me  off  from 
23 


CHERRY 

her  attention  almost  entirely  by  drawing  her 
away  into  obscure  recesses,  when  I  seldom 
failed  to  be  thrown  into  the  society  of  her 
father,  a  stout,  dull  old  gentleman,  who  ap 
peared  to  have  no  more  profit  or  capacity 
for  improvement  in  him  than  a  pulpy  oyster. 

Nothing  could  have  been  dearer  than  that 
Mr.  Fentriss's  assiduities  often  annoyed  Miss 
Sylvia,  but  he  never  would  have  believed  it, 
so  conceited  is  impudence,  so  secure  in  its  own 
fastness.  Even  a  well-merited  rebuke  which 
he  had  from  her  failed  to  shake  him.  Tossing 
up  her  head  at  some  brazen  love-making  (he 
made  love  to  her  under  my  very  eyes),  she 
turned  pointedly  to  me,  one  evening,  while  I 
was  endeavoring  to  converse  with  old  Mr. 
Gray,  and  said: 

"Please  talk  to  me  in  an  improving  way, 
Mr.  Sudgeberry.  No,  Mr.  Fentriss,  I  prefer 
listening  to  something  profound.  I'll  hear  no 
more  of  the  speeches  you  make  during  the  win 
ter  and  use  again  upon  us  poor  home  ladies  in 
summer.  Proceed,  Mr.  Sudgeberry;  I  am  all 
ears.  Let  me  have  some  great  lesson,  please/' 
24 


CHERRY 

I  at  once  began  a  conversation  on  the  de 
cline  and  fall  of  the  Persian  Empire,  to  which 
she  listened  attentively,  while  I  triumphantly 
watched  my  rival,  yet  looked  in  vain  to  see 
him  betray  signs  of  defeat  and  shame.  Had 
/  suffered  the  public  rebuke  which  he  had  so 
well  merited  and  •  received,  I  should  have 
hung  my  head  and  left  the  place,  but  he  was 
without  the  power  to  perceive  his  own  down 
fall. 

Evening  after  evening,  on  repairing  to 
Miss  Gray's,  I  found  him  already  there — al 
ways  before  me,  even  when  I  arrived  hours 
before  sunset.  This  almost  led  me  to  sup 
pose  that  Miss  Sylvia  might  be  in  the  habit  of 
asking  him  to  dine  with  her  and  her  father, 
but  I  dismissed  the  suspicion  as  unworthy, 
with  the  conclusion  that,  if  he  did  dine  with 
them,  it  was  because  he  forced  himself  upon 
them.  He  was  capable  of  it. 

Another  thing  to  his  discredit:  while  the 

mere  fact  of  his  preceding  me  in  arrival  at 

the  Grays'  should  have  dictated  to  him  an 

early  departure,  he  was  so  insensate  that  he 

25 


CHERRY 

always  managed  to  remain  until  after  I  had 
left — this,  too,  in  spite  of  many  a  strong  hint 
from  both  the  young  lady  and  myself,  and 
also  in  spite  of  the  circumstance  that  I  stayed 
there  every  night  till  I  could  fairly  hold  up 
my  head  no  longer,  and  was  forced  to  depart 
through  sheer  drowsiness  at  a  time  long  af 
ter  decent  folk  had  gone  to  bed.  I  say  I 
sometimes  hinted  at  this  in  his  presence;  so 
did  Miss  Gray;  and  as  for  old  Mr.  Gray,  he 
openly  said  it,  along  toward  midnight.  I 
have  even  known  the  latter  to  groan  with 
out  disguise,  and  most  piteously;  but  what 
effect  did  that  have  on  William  Fentriss? 
None  in  the  wide  world!  Did  he  budge 
from  his  chair?  Not  he!  So  impervious 
was  he  that  he  would  brazenly  reply  to 
the  good  old  man  with  the  mockery  of  a 
responsive  sigh.  No  comment  on  such  con 
duct  is  necessary. 

Hour  after  hour  would  we  sit,  watching 

for  each  other  to  go,  he  ensconced  nearer  Miss 

Sylvia — his  art  in  accomplishing  this  feat  was 

little  short  of  magic — and  I  would  have  to 

26 


"HOUR  AFTER  HOUR  WE  WOULD  SIT" 


CHERRY 

converse  with  old  Mr.  Gray.  I  often  raised 
my  voice  in  order  that  the  lady  might  have 
the  benefit  of  my  remarks,  but  at  such  times 
Fentriss  would  break  into  peals  of  laugh 
ter  over  some  private  witticism  of  his 
own  (I  made  sure)  and  my  effect  would  be 
lost. 

Often  I  thought  I  should  die  of  the  effort  of 
talking  to  that  dull  old  man.  When  I  would 
come  to  a  climax  in  my  discourse,  and,  striking 
the  main  question  of  a  theme,  thus,  perhaps, 
putting  it — "And  what,  then,  cwas  this  all- 
pervading  error  of  the  ancients?" — I  would 
give,  of  course,  the  proper  rhetorical  pause, 
intending  to  proceed  at  once;  but  invariably 
old  Mr.  Gray  would  appear  to  think  I  had 
finished  the  subject,  and  immediately  inter 
ject  some  such  remark  as,  ''The  north  field  is 
looking  very  well  for  oats." 

Can  any  intelligent  mind  require  me  to 
enlarge  upon  the  mere  statement  that  the 
introduction  of  such  observations  into  the 
heart  of  a  discussion  leaves  its  logical  con 
tinuance  wellnigh  impossible,  and  must  ever 
27 


CHERRY 

be  the  occasion  of  acute  distress  to  any  ear 
nest  expounder? 

Mr,  Fentriss  continued  to  take  up  so  much 
of  Miss  Sylvia's  time  that  perhaps  I  might 
have  been  brought  at  last  to  suspect  it  was 
by  her  connivance,  except  for  some  expres 
sions  of  hers  which  fell  to  my  knowledge  by 
a  happy  chance. 

The  evening  before  the  occurrence  I  men 
tion,  I  had  made  (to  Mr.  Gray)  a  long  and 
able  defence  of  infant  damnation,  tracing  the 
doctrine  and  quoting  many  commentators 
with  laborious  exactitude.  Now,  I  would  not 
have  it  thought  that  my  efforts  went  always 
in  vain,  or  were  expended  entirely  without 
result  upon  my  constant  listener.  Nay,  the 
influence  I  came  gradually  to  exert  over  him 
is  another  proof  to  me  that  determined  per 
severance  cannot  go  unrewarded.  May  I  con 
fess  it  was  not  without  a  degree  of  pleasure 
that,  as  time  went  on,  I  perceived  my  con 
versation  producing,  little  by  little,  a  stronger 
and  stronger  effect  upon  Miss  Sylvia's  father? 
28 


CHERRY 

I  have  known  him  to  be  so  moved  by  my 
modest  flights  that,  at  the  end,  he  would 
reply  thickly,  even  (I  may  say)  with  a  broken 
utterance.  What  suitor,  let  me  ask,  is  not 
glad  of  a  power  obtained  over  the  near  rel 
atives  of  the  admired  one?  And  was  not 
my  pride  pardonable  for  this  achievement, 
which,  as  the  sequel  shows,  I  had  performed 
entirely  by  means  of  my  own  unaided  con 
versation?  Therefore,  I  shall  make  no  apol 
ogy  for  recording  my  triumphs  in  that  di 
rection. 

This  evening  Mr*  Gray  appeared  somewhat 
restless  during  my  argument,  but  the  perora 
tion  fixed  him  in  his  chair  as  immovable  as 
if  I  had  pinned  him  to  it  with  a  knife.  I  made 
sure  that  I  had  thoroughly  convinced  him, 
and  was  confirmed  in  this  impression  when 
he  rose  and  explained,  with  a  curious  in- 
coherency  in  his  voice,  that  he  must  consult 
some  of  the  authorities  in  his  library;  but  he 
did  not  return,  though  I  waited  a  considerable 
time. 

The  following  afternoon  I  was  riding  along 
29 


CHERRY 

a  quiet  lane,  with  the  reins  on  old  Jeremiah's 
neck,  and  perusing  a  work  of  merit,  when, 
glancing  up,  I  chanced  upon  the  pleasant 
discovery  of  two  mounted  figures  some  dis 
tance  ahead  of  me,  which  I  recognized  as  those 
of  Miss  Gray  and  her  father.  I  clapped  my 
book  in  my  pocket  and  quickened  my  nag's 
gait  to  overtake  them,  but  as  I  drew  near  I 
perceived  they  had  not  noticed  my  approach, 
the  dust  being  thick  and  muffling  the  hoof- 
beats,  so  I  pulled  in,  meaning  to  come  upon 
them  unexpectedly  and  give  them  a  pleasant 
surprise.  Thus,  by  chance,  I  happened  to 
overhear  part  of  their  conversation. 

Mr.  Gray  appeared  to  be  laboring  under 
no  little  excitement,  flinging  his  arms  about 
in  the  most  vigorous  gestures.  It  was  a  warm 
afternoon,  and  that  part  of  the  back  of  his 
neck  unprotected  by  his  queue  was  quite 
purple. 

44 Saints  and  martyrs!*'  cries  the  profane 

old  man  with  singular  vehemence.    "  I'll  bear 

it  no  longer!    I  will  not!    Do  you  want  to 

see  your  old  father  in  a  mad-house?    For 

30 


CHERRY 

the  sake  of  my  white  hairs  tell  that  fool  to 
go  away  and  stay  there!" 

At  this  my  heart  beat  high  with  happiness* 
"Aha!"  thinks  I,  "I  was  right:  my  work 
has  not  gone  in  vain;  Mr.  Gray  is  on  my  side. 
Now,  Master  Will,  I  wish  you  had  been  here 
to  hear  her  father's  opinion  of  you." 

It  was  not  difficult  to  see  that  Miss  Sylvia 
was  amused.  "Stop  your  laughing!"  the  old 
gentleman  bawled,  violently.  "  It's  no  laugh 
ing  matter.  I've  fallen  off  three  stone  this 
summer,  and  I'd  rather  take  the  plague  than 
go  through  it  again.  You've  got  to  let  me 
talk  to  Fentriss." 

"So!"  thought  I,  my  respect  for  Mr.  Gray 
vastly  increased,  "  Master  Will  is  not  to 
bother  me  much  longer.  This  good  old 
man  will  send  him  about  his  business  a-hum- 
ming." 

"Why  do  you  let  him  come?"  the  old 
gentleman  asked,  angrily. 

"To  amuse  you,  father  dear,"  responded 
the  daughter,  roguishly. 

44 Amuse  me!"  I  feared  Mr.  Gray  would 
31 


CHERRY 

burst  his  coat  seams.    "If  you  arc  going  to 
have  the  other,  why — " 

Here,  with  joy,  I  saw  the  fair  one  bend  her 
head  in  maiden  modesty,  while  her  voice  fell 
so  low  I  scarce  could  hear  the  words  she  said. 
Her  posture,  graceful  and  coy,  bespoke  a 
sudden  shyness,  as  tender  as  it  was,  in  her, 
unexpected — an  attitude  of  revelation  which, 
I  confess,  caused  a  thrill,  a  warmth  of  satis 
faction  to  pass  through  my  veins.  I  admit, 
additionally,  that  for  some  inexplicable  rea 
son  both  the  thrill  and  the  satisfaction  were 
irrationally  increased  by  the  manner  in  which, 
as  she  began  to  blush  exceedingly,  the  wave 
of  her  hair,  falling  from  her  brow,  shone 
against  the  gentle  crimson  of  that  brow  and 
of  her  cheek. 

She  turned  her  downcast  eyes  away  from 
her  father,  so  that  her  profile  was  toward 
me;  then  she  lifted  her  face  and  her  glance, 
and  spoke — to  the  air,  it  seemed. 

"You  know — ah,  do  I  need  to  say  it? — 
there  is  only  one  in  the  whole  world  that  I — " 

She  paused. 

32 


CHERRY 

I  would  listen  no  more  to  a  confession  so 
much  to  my  advantage,  and  therefore,  cough 
ing  loudly,  I  gave  my  nag  a  flick  and  rode  up 
beside  them. 

Judge  the  pleasure  of  my  feelings  when  I 
saw  that  my  arrival  threw  the  object  of  my 
affections  into  the  most  delightful,  the  most 
overwhelming  confusion.  At  the  same  time, 
good  Mr.  Gray,  in  his  surprise,  welcomed  me 
with  broken  monosyllables  and  cries  of 
pleased  amazement. 

It  must  be  plain  to  all  that  it  now  remain 
ed  for  me  to  choose  when  I  should  put  the 
question.  Secure  in  her  father's  approval, 
aware  of  my  place  in  her  own  good  graces, 
and  knowing  their  joint  condemnation  of  my 
rival,  I  was  privileged  to  laugh  in  my  sleeve, 
after  this,  when  the  unconscious  Fentriss 
would  talk  all  evening  to  Miss  Gray,  leaving 
me  to  address  myself  diligently  to  her  good 
father. 

At  this  period  I  had  fears  that  all  was  not 
well  with  Mr.  Gray's  constitution,  and  I  be- 
33 


CHERRY 

lieve  that  he  was  having  business  troubles, 
for  he  sometimes  suffered  spells  of  terrible 
depression;  also,  his  complexion  took  on  a 
sickly,  pallid  hue,  unusual  and  sinister  in  a 
full-blooded  person. 


o 


NLY  one  thing  could  have  added  to 
my  triumph  and  the  pleasure  of  it; 
and  that  very  thing  was  the  actual 
accomplishment  of  the  next  week, 
whereby  William  Fentriss  was  exhibited  in 
his  true  character,  left  outside  the  pale  of 
reputable  company,  and,  moreover,  through 
an  incident  as  happy  for  us  as  unfortuitous 
for  him,  utterly  banished  from  Mr.  Gray's 
and  his  daughter's  society. 
35 


CHERRY 

In  the  city,  a  few  miles  distant,  there  lived 
— if  gyrating  to  the  fiddles  all  night  and 
snoring  abed  all  day  be  living — a  number  of 
romping,  Mohawkish  youths  who  were  friends 
of  William  Fentriss.  One  Saturday  night — 
well  I  recall  it,  for  was  it  not  the  first  evening 
of  the  summer  he  did  not  obtrude  himself 
upon  Miss  Sylvia  and  me? — "Will  repaired  to 
town  for  a  banquet  given  by  these  roisterers. 
Now,  emerging  from  their  feast,  befuddled 
and  enervated  by  the  noxious  fumes  of  their 
potations,  the  party  rioted  confusedly  over 
the  place  till  the  watch  was  summoned;  the 
young  men  were  surrounded,  and,  in  the 
state  of  enfeeblement  which  had  befallen 
them,  easily  captured  and  conveyed  to  the 
lock-up. 

Such  exploits,  vicious  as  they  should  al 
ways  be  considered,  were  too  commonly  over 
looked  in  those  days;  but  our  community 
was,  for  the  greater  part,  a  proper,  serious, 
disciplinarian  one;  so  that  by  noon  the  next 
day  Will  Fentriss  was  being  held  up  as  a 
warning  example  to  every  apple-thieving  or 
36 


CHERRY 

anywise-depraved  child  of  the  whole  country 
side,  for  the  story  was  immediately  brought 
out  to  as  and  widely  spread;  and,  though 
there  were  found  those  impertinent  enough 
to  offer  excuse  for  the  young  man,  alleging  in 
defence  his  early  departure  from  the  banquet, 
before  the  acts  of  maraudery  were  committed, 
yet  none  could  deny  he  had  been  of  the 
party,  or  that  the  dissolute  young  men  were 
his  friends;  therefore  sentiment  was  justly 
strong  against  him* 

There  was  one  curious  detail  connected 
with  his  actions  which  I  shall  not  over 
look,  but  which  has  received  more  weight 
in  the  minds  of  many  than  its  due;  in 
deed,  there  have  been  people  dull  enough 
to  use  it  as  the  basis  of  a  completely  laugh 
able  theory  concerning  Miss  Gray's  course 
in  regard  to  William — a  theory  so  far  from 
being  borne  out  by  the  facts  that  I  need 
not  more  definitely  mention  it.  The  origin 
of  this  nonsense  was  the  report  that  at 
the  banquet,  when  the  toasts  to  the  ladies 
were  called,  and  William's  turn  came,  he 
37 


CHERRY 

rose,  and  instead  of  crying  "I  give  you 
Sylvia!"  as  all  expected,  pronounced  the 
name  " Cherry!" 

Now,  as  our  neighborhood  was  the  abode 
of  no  person  of  this  appellation,  nor  were 
any  of  the  gossips  acquainted  with  such  else 
where,  the  very  next  morning  there  was  a 
clacking  about  the  matter  which  bade  fair 
to  outdo  and  smother  the  righteous  in 
dignation  over  Will's  wildness  and  perpe 
trations;  there  was  also  a  vast  curiosity 
and  a  hopeful  prying  concerning  the  iden 
tity  of  Miss  Cherry,  with  much  wondering 
how  Sylvia  Gray  would  take  it*  This,  of 
course,  was  the  very  arrogance  of  miscon 
ception;  as  well  I  knew,  since  the  day  I 
rode  up  behind  Mr.  Gray  and  Miss  Gray, 
that  William  Fentriss  might  toast  a  thou 
sand  Cherrys  if  he  would,  it  was  less  than 
nothing  to  Sylvia. 

About  two  of  the  afternoon,  I  think  it 

may  have  been,  as  I  sat  engaged  with  my 

studies   beneath    an   apple  -  tree,   near    our 

front  gate,  I  heard  my  name  called — some- 

38 


CHERRY 

what  tremulously — from  the  road,  and,  turn 
ing,  beheld  Miss  Gray  herself  upon  her  little 
bay  mare* 

She  impatiently  awaited  my  approach, 
flicking  her  skirt  with  her  whip  and  glancing 
up  and  down  the  road*  I  could  not  fail  to 
perceive  her  very  visible  agitation,  nor  did  I 
find  the  expression  of  her  emotions  unbe 
coming*  Her  eyes,  now  veiled  as  she  followed 
the  flickings  of  her  whip-lash,  now  turning 
away  from  me,  then  toward  me,  but  never 
directly  meeting  mine,  were  of  a  troubled 
brightness ;  her  breath  came  quick ;  her 
face  was  overspread  with  a  high  color;  her 
whole  attitude  betokened  excited  determi 
nation* 

"  Saddle  your  horse,  Mr*  Sudgeberry,"  says 
she*  "I  wish  you  to  ride  with  me,  if  you 
please*" 

Then  well  I  understood  that  flushing  brow, 
that  heaving  bosom,  that  tumultuous  yet 
decided  glance*  Having  cognizance  of  the 
condition  of  her  affections,  here  was  no  trying 
riddle  to  read.  I  was  convinced  that  she  was 
39 


CHERRY 

as  lady-like  and  proper  a  maiden  as  breathedt 
and  who  could  have  conceived  more  readily 
than  I  that  conflict  with  pride,  ere  she  allowed 
herself  to  come  seeking  a  gentleman's  society, 
instead  of  waiting  at  home  for  his  invita 
tions? 

When  I  stood  beside  her,  she  looked  over 
my  head  for  a  moment,  with  a  great  sweet 
ness,  before  speaking* 

"I  was  engaged  to  walk  at  this  hoar  with 
Mr*  Fentriss.  I  prefer  to  ride  with  you." 
She  finished,  faltering  tenderly,  "That  is,  if 
you — if  you  wish/' 

At  this  point  I  came  near  making  a  dec 
laration  of  my  purposes  regarding  her  future. 
However,  I  had  already  given  the  question  a 
searching  consideration,  deciding  not  to  speak 
until  the  Christmas  holidays,  and  my  wis 
dom  now  held  me  silent;  for  a  betrothal,  at 
the  present  time,  entailing  a  reciprocal  corre 
spondence  when  I  returned  to  Nassau  Hall, 
would  have  interfered  with  my  studies  during 
the  following  term,  which  was  the  crucial  one 
of  the  whole  course.  In  truth,  had  I  not 
40 


CHERRY 

thus  with  a  stern  hand  regulated  my  con- 
duett  I  might  have  lost  the  Latin  prize, 
the  apex  and  climax  of  my  career  as  a 
student, 

I  replied  to  Miss  Sylvia's  request  cautious 
ly,  making  reference  to  my  scholarly  tasks  for 
the  afternoon  with  a  regretful  glance  at  my 
books,  as  I  judged  it  expedient  in  dealing 
with  a  woman,  plainly  to  exhibit  the  sacrifices 
made  for  her;  yet,  practising  a  subtlety  at 
once  innocent  and  dexterous,  I  gave  her  at 
the  same  time  to  understand  that  I  was  far 
from  unwilling  to  fall  in  with  her  invita 
tion, 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  we  were  jogging 
side  by  side  along  the  road,  she  leaning  tow 
ard  me  from  her  saddle  with  the  most  blush 
ing  and  flattering  attention  to  my  discourse. 
Never  had  man  a  more  perfect  listener  than  I 
that  afternoon.  Her  orbs  of  vision,  exponents 
of  the  enrapt  mind,  were  fixed  upon  the  dis 
tance;  in  them  dwelt  a  profound  glow  which 
gratified  me  exceedingly;  and  the  people 
whom  we  met  turned  and  stared  after  us  as 
41 


CHERRY 

we  went  by.    This,  also,  was  a  source   of 
pleasure. 

But  nothing  touched  me  to  such  extreme 
delight  that  day  as  the  first  sight  of  Will 
Fentriss's  face  when  he  saw  us  riding  up  the 
road  together. 


o 


MAJESTY  OF 
THE  HUMAN  INTELLECT 

NE  fine  evening  near  the  close  of 
the  following  week,  Mr.  Gray,  Miss 
Sylvia,  and  I  sat  upon  the  veran- 

da  in  sympathetic   converse,  when 

whom  should  we  behold,  walking 
toward  us  from  the  gate  in  the  clear  moon 
light,  but  old  Vawter  Fentriss,  Will's  uncle 
and  guardian. 

Vawter  Fentriss  was  a  loose,  apple-cheeked 
old  man,  full  of  hoarse  jests — a  shame  to  his 
years.    You  could  not  pass  his  house  any 
43 


GH ERRY 

day  in  good  weather  but  to  see  him,  always 
dressed  in  a  green  coat  and  velvet  cap,  romp 
ing  among  his  dogs,  or  mayhap  seated  on  the 
rim  of  the  horse-trough,  smoking  a  long  pipe, 
an  admiring  semicircle  of  stable-boys  and 
farm  -  servants  listening  to  Heaven  knows 
what  kind  of  tales  from  his  undignified  lips. 
He  would  exchange  quips  in  loud  shouts  with 
every  passer-by  of  his  acquaintance,  never 
leaving  off  as  long  as  both  remained  in  hear 
ing;  so  that  the  sober-minded  were  forced  to 
make  long,  painful  detours  to  avoid  his  house. 

However,  the  dullest  might  have  remarked 
that  it  was  with  no  jocular  intent  he  ad 
ventured  to-night's  visit;  his  heavy  face  was 
troubled  and  anxious,  while  ever  and  anon 
he  kicked  at  some  of  the  hounds  that  had 
followed  him. 

I  observed  Miss  Sylvia's  demeanor  with 
commendation  and  approval.  She  rose  as  if 
to  greet  the  visitor,  but,  vouchsafing  only  a 
word,  held  herself  haughtily,  and,  returning 
Vawter's  salutations  with  a  proud  bearing, 
showed  him  a  chair  by  Mr.  Gray. 
44 


CHERRY 

says  he,  "I'll  not  sit,  thank  you. 
I  am  here  on  an  errand  to  you,  Miss  Sylvia, 
and — "  He  came  to  a  halt,  as  though  hoping 
she  might  offer  to  speak  with  him  in  private. 
Therein  disappointment  was  his  meed,  for 
she,  at  once  taking  on  a  patient  languor, 
looked  over  his  head  with  the  air  of  one  kept 
waiting  for  a  very  indifferent  pleasure. 

At  this  he  showed  considerable  discom 
fort,  knowing  not  how  to  continue.  "Well," 
he  observed,  presently,  "it  is  a  fine  night. 
I  just  thought  I  would  come  by  this  way/' 
There  was  no  reply,  and  after  a  silence  of 
some  duration  he  wiped  his  face  several  times 
with  his  kerchief,  and  repeated,  in  a  low 
voice,  "I  just  thought  I  would  come  by  this 
way/'  Then  he  kicked  a  couple  of  his  dogs 
down  the  steps,  apologizing  for  their  pres 
ence,  as  nothing  could  withhold  them  from 
following  him  wherever  he  went.  That 
done,  he  stood  muttering  that  it  was  a  fine 
night,  until  one  of  the  dogs  again  obtruded 
himself  upon  the  steps,  whereat  his  master 
turned  and  booted  him  clean  over  another 
45 


CHERRY 

dog.    This  seemed  of  great  benefit  to  Mr. 
Fentriss. 

"Hey!"  he  shouted,  his  tongue  suddenly 
loosened.  "Am  I  to  stand  here  like  a  frozen 
ninny  and  have  even  the  manners  of  my  own 
dogs  disgrace  me?  Will  you  tell  me,"  he 
continued,  turning  upon  Mr.  Gray,  with  an 
expression  amazingly  choleric,  "what  it  is 
you  have  against  my  boy?" 

44 1 r  exclaimed  Mr.  Gray.  "What  have  7 
done  against  him?" 

"Will's  a  good  lad,"  cried  Vawter  — "as 
good  and  well-behaved  as  any  living — yet 
here,  because  of  a  little  gayety,  and  the 
granny-patter  over  it,  you  forbid  him  your 
house.  What  kind  of  neighborliness  do  you 
say  that  is?" 

"/forbid  him  the  house!"  said  the  other. 
"I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  I—" 

"Why,  it  is  common  talk  all  over  the  place 
that  he  was  forbidden  to  come  here,  that  you 
disapproved  his  courses,  that — " 

"I  tell  you,  sir,"  interrupted  Mr.  Gray,  "I 
did  not  forbid  him.    I  had  noth — " 
46 


CHERRY 

But  Vawter,  in  his  turn,  took  the  words 
out  of  his  neighbor's  mouth.  "Well,  Heaven 
pardon  you!  Lord-a-mercy!  isn't  it  the  com 
mon  gossip?  Will  himself  could  not  deny  it 
when  I  put  it  to  him  flat.  'Twas  the  very 
day  after  that  supper  doings  in  town.  Will 
was  to  walk  with  Miss  Sylvia  here;  she  had 
promised  him,  but,  instead — instead  of  keep 
ing  her  word  with  him,  she  came  riding  by 
with  Sudgeberry,  just  as  poor  Will  came  out  of 
your  gate,  having  found  her  away.  Weren't 
there  no  others  that  saw  it?  Don't  tell  me! 
I  know  whereof  I  speak,  Mr.  Gray!  She 
wouldn't  answer  my  nephew's  bow,  and  tried 
to  pass  him  by,  making  much  of  Sudgeberry 
the  while;  but  Will  would  not  have  it,  and  ran 
in  front  of  her  horse.  She  bade  him  clear  the 
path,  and,  upon  his  begging  some  explanation, 
told  him,  shrewishly,  that  he  had  friends  in 
town  he'd  best  return  to;  that  neither  she 
nor  you  desired  more  of  his  company;  he  was 
too  gay  a  gentleman,  she  said;  and  she  gave 
him  the  message  from  you  that  he  was  forbid 
the  house  — that  he  was  forbid  the  house! 
47 


CHERRY 

Wasn't  that  your  message?  Hey,  sir,  if  you 
call  that—" 

"Now,  now!"  Mr.  Gray  cut  in.  "'Twas 
only  at  Sylvia's  bidding.  She  had  the  tale 
that  Will  was  in  disgrace,  and  she  desired 
my  authority.  It  may  be  true  I  sent  some 
such  message,  since  she  wished  it,  but — " 

"Well,  what  d'ye  call  that?"  said  Vaw- 
ter.  "If  that  ain't  forbidding  a  man  your 
house!" 

"Tis  easy  to  see,"  Mr.  Gray  observed, 
plaintively,  "that  you  have  no  daughter." 

"But  I  have  a  nephew." 

Mr.  Gray  lifted  his  hands  in  a  feeble  gesture 
of  protest.  "I  give  it  up,"  he  murmured, 
"I  can't  make  head  nor  tail  of  it.  What 
with  the  evenings  I've  had  and  the  troubles 
I've  been  through  this  season,  what  with 
losing  sleep  and  Sylvia's  crying  about  the 
house  all  week,  and  neighbors  quarrelling 
with  me,  account  of  her  affairs,  I  doubt  I  last 
the  summer." 

"You  may  be  troubled,"  rejoined  Vawter, 
"but  so  am  I.  I  can't  bear  to  look  at  Will 
48 


CHERRY 

as  he's  been  since  Miss  Sylvia  has  thrown  him 
aside — and  for  Sudgeberry,  here — for  do  it 
she  did;  yes,  like  an  old,  moth-eaten  cap! 
D'ye  think  it's  no  trouble  for  me  to  see  the 
lad  sitting  the  day  long  in  one  place  with  his 
head  in  his  hands,  he  that  has  all  his  life  been 
the  gayest  of  the  gay  and  made  my  widower's 
house  cheery,  and — "  He  coughed  several 
times  at  this  point,  then  spoke  up,  sharply: 
"Look,  now!  Don't  think  I  come  from  him, 
or  that  he  knows  it.  He's  proud  as  you  are, 
ma'am — you  might  be  aware  of  that — and 
if  you  can't  be  kind  to  him  again,  I  don't 
know  what  we  are  to  do,  not  for  the  life  o' 
me!  I  don't  mean  he  will  be  doing  what  is 
wicked  or  desperate — he  has  his  good  sense, 
and  much  of  it — but  isn't  there  no  word  I 
could  say  to  turn  you  to  him?  If  there  is, 
I  could  go  on  my  old  knees  to  you  to  beg 
the  knowledge  of  it.  Surely  you  don't  need 
my  telling  to  know  that  Will's  thought  the 
world  and  all  of  you,  and  dreamed  of  little 
else  these  five  years.  If  it  is  as  I  hear, 
and  you're  angry  with  him  for  that  toast  to 
49 


GH  ERRY 

'Cherry/  why,  it  may  be  that  could  be  ex 
plained/' 


Sylvia's  voice  was  husky  with  indignation, 
and  she  lifted  her  head  proudly.  "He  may 
toast  as  many  'Cherrys'  as  he  pleases,  so  he 
does  not  come  near  me.  What  can  it  be  to 
me  whom  he  toasts?  He  is  proud,  is  he? 
Well,  sir,  you  may  tell  him  that  I  am  too 
proud  myself  to  allow  young  men  to  be  the 
associates  of  Mohawks  and  Heaven  knows 
whom,  in  town,  and  then  seek  company  in 
me.  He  will  not  sit  with  his  head  in  his 
hands  long;  never  you  fear  for  that,  sir! 
Twill  be  a  mighty  little  time  till  he  finds 
consolation  in  his  'Cherrys';  and  they  will 
not  be  too  proud,  you  will  see!  —  ladies 
whose  names  he  was  free  to  mention  in  that 
society!  Proud!  'Tis  my  one  satisfaction, 
tell  him,  that  he  is  —  or  pretends  to  be  —  since 
it  keeps  him  out  of  my  sight/' 

Now  I  ask  all  the  world:  What  completer 
proof  was  ever  offered  that  a  woman  cared 
50 


GH ERRY 

nothing  for  a  particular  man  than  this  speech 
of  Sylvia's,  openly  and  voluntarily  setting 
forth  that  Will  Fentriss  was  not,  and  never 
could  be,  the  weight  of  her  little  finger  to 
her? 

Also,  observe  that  Mr.  Gray  spoke  of  her 
weeping  much  of  late.  Ay,  though  I  had  not 
seen  her  weep,  I  knew  she  had  been  dismal 
enough;  and  so  had  I  myself,  at  times;  I 
confess  it.  The  end  of  my  holiday  was  fast 
approaching,  and  with  it  a  separation  of 
months  was  coming  upon  us.  What  wonder 
that  I  sighed  sometimes — what  wonder  that 
she  wept? 

When  she  had  said  her  say  to  Vawter,  she 
turned  haughtily  and  swept  away  to  the  oth 
er  end  of  the  veranda,  where  she  remained, 
lost  in  her  reflections. 

It  appeared  to  me  befitting  and  proper 
that  a  few  words  be  hereupon  addressed  to 
Mr.  Fentriss.  Advancing,  therefore,  to  where 
he  stood  gasping  with  astonishment  on  the 
steps,  I  extended  the  first  finger  of  my  right 
51 


CHERRY 

hand  toward  him  in  dignified  reproof,  and 
exclaimed: 

"Oh,  sir,  fie!" 

An  expression  of  the  most  astounding  and 
immoderate  rage  suddenly  overspread  his 
features* 

"Well,  upon  my  soul  and  vitals!"  he  burst 
forth.  "If  it's  come  to  this,  I'll—" 

But  I  cut  him  off  sharply  and  allowed  him 
not  one  syllable  more. 

"Ay,  sir!"  I  cried,  loudly.  "I  repeat:  Fie! 
Fie! — and  be  ashamed!  Compose  yourself  to 
a  more  respectable  frame  of  mind,  and  your 
visage  to  a  seemlier  aspect,  while  I  expound 
your  own  case  for  your  benefit  and  good. 
Is  it  the  part  of  age  to  be  the  messenger  of 
petulant  youth,  justly  rebuked  and  sulking?" 

"I'll  not  stand  this!"  Vawter  replied,  in 
tones  which  alternated  between  hoarse  re 
monstrance  and  apoplectic  choking.  "If  I 
do,  may  I — " 

I  immediately  asserted  my  human  right  to 
speech,  conquering  him  by  the  force  and, 
may  I  say,  the  majesty  of  will-power,  which 
52 


CHERRY 

I  possessed  to  as  great  a  degree  in  my  younger 
days  as  now.  I  poured  forth  upon  him  not 
the  phials  of  contempt,  but  the  silver  decan 
ters  of  eloquent  instruction.  I  gave  utter 
ance  to  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients  upon  the 
proper  paths  of  conduct  for  aged  men  to  fol 
low,  adding  thereunto  my  own  deductions, 
with  an  indubitable  demonstration  that  the 
only  course  now  open  to  him  was  a  silent 
and  contrite  withdrawal. 

At  first  he  waved  his  hands  violently,  and 
attempted  to  drown  my  words  by  sundry 
roarings,  near  profane,  but  these  gave  place 
to  a  dangerous  coughing  fit,  so  that  he  was 
forced  to  pound  himself  upon  the  chest,  after 
which  an  awed  silence  fell  upon  him;  for  it 
may  be  here  recorded  that  an  inspiration — 
nothing  less — sustained  my  flow  of  thought 
upon  this  occasion.  Never  in  my  life  have  I 
been  more  fluent. 

As  I  went  on,  he  slowly  backed  himself 
down  the  steps,  until,  as  he  came  into  the 
moonlight,  no  one  could  have  failed  to  per 
ceive  that  consternation  alone  was  writ  upon 
53 


CHERRY 

his  face.  His  little  red  eyes  were  opened  to 
an  extent  no  man  ever  saw  before  or  again. 
I  followed  him,  whereat  he  faintly  motioned 
at  me  with  the  palm  of  his  hand  held  outward, 
as  if  to  keep  me  off,  and  retreated  toward  the 
gate. 

At  last  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his 
discomfiture  complete.  He  went  rapidly  down 
the  lane  in  the  moonlight,  his  chin  on  his  chest, 
a  crushed  and  humbled  man,  his  dogs  slinking 
after  him,  not  bounding  and  barking  as  they 
had  arrived,  but  bearing  their  tails  concavely 
on  the  inner  curve.  As  for  myself,  I  sank, 
somewhat  exhausted,  but  triumphant,  upon 
the  steps. 

There  is  but  one  thing  more  to  tell  of 
Vawter  Fentriss.  As  I  have  recounted,  it 
was  his  daily  habit  to  sit  somewhere  about 
his  grounds  and  exchange  quips  with  all 
who  passed  his  house,  shouting  gibes  and 
jests  at  every  passer-by  of  his  acquaintance 
until  out  of  hearing,  and  I  had  not  escaped 
his  feeble  wit  whenever  I  went  that  way. 
Now  let  me  chronicle  the  result  of  this  night's 
54 


CHERRY 

address  to  him:  I  write  it  simply,  and  without 
parade  or  pride;  but  from  that  time  forth  he 
called  not  another  jest  at  me  to  the  day  of  his 
death;  and  I  never  afterwards  passed  his 
house  that  he  did  not  get  up  from  his  seat, 
or  quit  whatever  he  was  doing,  and  go  into 
the  house  as  soon  as  he  caught  sight  of  me. 
The  man  had  some  shame. 


o 


NLY  a  week  now  intervened  be 
fore  my  departure,  and  while  the 
thought  of  this  would  naturally  cast 
a  dark  shadow  over  the  spirits  of 
my  friends,  causing  in  them  a  plainly  appar 
ent  though  silent  depression,  still  that  was  a 
truly  delightful  period;  for  the  mar-pleasure, 
William  Fentriss,  was  absent,  nor  during  sev 
eral  days  did  one  of  us  catch  the  slightest 
glimpse  of  his  outrivalled  and  disgraced  head. 
56 


CHERRY' 

Each  evening,  at  earliest  dusk,  I  repaired 
to  the  house  of  my  mistress,  cogitating  and 
formulating  by  the  way,  so  that  the  time, 
though  pleasant,  should  be  spent  in  improve 
ment  and  to  the  profit  of  all  three  of  us — 
for  Mr.  Gray  still  made  one  of  our  little 
party*  Many  and  many  a  time  did  he,  out 
of  delicacy,  arise  and  make  as  if  he  were 
about  to  withdraw,  but,  in  spite  of  a  thou 
sand  earnest  excuses  and  protestations  which 
he  offered,  Miss  Sylvia  ever  firmly  detained 
him,  being  a  conscientious  daughter,  who 
would  not  alone  enjoy  a  pleasure  or  a  benefit 
when  she  could  possibly  share  it  with  those 
to  whom  her  duty  lay* 

On  that  account  I  still  directed  toward  the 
old  man  a  great  part  of  my  conversation.  To 
do  otherwise,  I  maintain,  would  have  been  a 
graceless  act.  He  had  been  my  nightly  com 
panion  and  constant  listener  throughout  the 
whole  season*  Should  I  desert  him  now? 
Such  a  treachery  it  was  not  in  my  nature  to 
conceive* 

Miss  Sylvia,  as  I  have  indicated,  was  pos- 
57 


CHERRY 

sessed  by  a  melancholy  which  grew  deeper 
each  dayt  betrayed  by  the  saddening  of  her 
features,  those  sorrowful  images  of  her  emo 
tions;  but  as  for  myself,  I  was  conscious  of 
a  warmish  tingle  of  excitement;  the  highest 
spirits  followed  my  triumph;  seldom,  indeed, 
have  I  been  more  joyously  inclined,  and  at 
any  time  could  I  have  talked  till  daylight. 
This  pleasurable  agitation  took  the  place  of 
rest,  and  thus,  feeling  no  need  of  sleep,  I  was 
enabled  to  make  my  calls  at  the  Grays' 
extend  far  into  the  night. 

In  my  enthusiasm  I  selected  only  the 
gravest  topics,  often,  I  fear,  going  too  deep 
for  Mr.  Gray  to  follow.  Let  that  be  as  it  may, 
I  can  truthfully  declare  that  it  became  an 
actual  pleasure  to  talk  to  him.  I  have  not 
the  wish  to  assume  undue  credit,  yet  it  was 
no  unworthy  performance  to  arrest  his  atten 
tion  and  restrain  him  from  brooding  upon  the 
business  troubles  which  I  have  mentioned. 
To  this  end  I  exerted  every  endeavor;  I 
called  into  play  my  utmost  powers,  as  I  saw 
the  inroads  his  anxieties  had  made  upon 
58 


CHERRY 

his  hitherto  hardy  constitution.  His  hands 
were  nerveless;  his  flesh  had  grown  flabby; 
a  dull,  fishy  glaze  was  come  over  his  eyes, 
together  with  a  perpetual  twitching  of  the 
lids  which  would  have  softened  a  heart  of 
adamant. 

He  was  far  from  being  the  man  he  had 
been  at  the  first  of  that  summer,  not  only 
physically,  but  mentally;  for  there  were  times 
when  the  glaze  would  leave  his  eyes,  and  I 
could  see  them  shining  in  the  darkness  with 
a  baleful  light,  like  the  eyes  of  a  beast  at 
bay.  Simultaneously  his  sunken  lips  would 
work  and  mumble,  and  he  would  whisper 
and  hiss  to  himself,  so  that  I  feared  for  his 
reason. 

When  these  unhappy  spells  came  over  him 
I  would  fare  on  briskly  with  whatever  dis 
cussion  was  in  hand,  pretending  I  noticed 
nothing.  So,  presently,  his  head  would  fall 
on  his  chest,  and  I  comprehended — without 
his  saying  it — that  he  was  grateful  to  me  for 
soothing  him.  It  is  the  unspoken  gratitude 
which  is  deepest. 

59 


CHERRY 

"William  Fentriss  took  his  departure  three 
days  before  mine,  bat  he  did  not  do  so 
out  of  any  virtuous  anxiety  to  renew  his 
studies  you  may  be  sure.  The  afternoon 
before  he  went,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  pass 
ing  him  in  the  lane  with  Miss  Sylvia  upon 
my  arm.  I  could  not  tell  whether  it  was 
from  sheer  insolence,  or  if  it  was  to  conceal 
(which  it  did  not)  the  extreme,  painful  flush 
ing  of  his  face,  but  he  ventured  a  very  low, 
formal  bow,  receiving  in  return  the  cut 
direct  for  his  pains.  We  swept  on  with  the 
finest  air,  and  left  him  standing  there  with 
his  head  bared.  I  could  not  repress  a  pleasant 
laugh,  in  which  the  lady  joined  me,  though  I 
could  feel  her  arm  tremble  with  anger  at  his 
impudence. 

This  indignation  of  hers  was  not  suffered  to 
diminish,  for,  on  returning  from  our  stroll, 
a  note  was  brought  to  her,  which  she  opened 
and  read  in  my  presence,  her  face  growing 
even  redder  than  "Will's  had  been.  Her  hand, 
as  she  did  so,  again  shook  with  rage,  a  pas 
sion,  in  this  instance,  appreciably  enhancing 
60 


CHERRY 

the  youthful  charms  appertaining  to  her  ap 
pearance. 

"Read  it,"  she  said,  furiously,  thrusting 
the  paper  upon  me*  "Read  it,  sir!  Read 
it,  for  it  is  you  whom  I  ask  to  carry  the 
answer,  which  is  this  scrawl,  back  to  him 
again.  Does  he  think  that  I  shall  bear 
everything?" 

The  note  was  short.     I  read  it. 

"  Adieu  madam,  I  have  just  now  determined  to  go 
away  upon  the  morrow.  You  have  pot  a  great  deal 
of  shame  upon  me,  and  for  nothing.  Yet,  let  me  tell 
you,  I  have  only  thanks  for  your  former  kindness.  You 
and  your  escort  had  the  enjoyment  of  laughing  at  me 
a  little  while  ago.  Believe  me,  your  choice  of  another 
to  favor  causes  me  the  greater  mortification — but  the 
lesser  alarm. 

"  You  will  not  speak  to  me.  You  will  not  hear  me. 
You  draw  your  skirts  aside  lest  they  touch  me  as  you 
pass.  Yet  I  shall  make  you  listen,  make  you  speak  to 
me,  gladly,  ere  the  year  be  run.  Never  fear  but  I  shall 
win  you.  Ah,  dear  Sylvia  I" 

I  did  not  carry  the  note  to  Will  myself. 
I  took  it  home  with  me,  and  sent  it  to  him  by 
a  bearer,  deciding  upon  that  as  the  course  of 
greater  discretion. 

61 


CHERRY 

But  before  I  sent  it,  I  sat  me  down  and 
wrote  upon  the  back  of  it  the  following 
words: 

"  Opened  by  Miss  Gray— and  me— by  mistake/' 


THE  FAREWELL 


S  I  turned  in  at  the  gate  for  my  last 
evening,  I  observed  Mr.  Gray  get 
up  from  the  porch  and  go  hastily 
into  the  house.    "Good  old  man!" 
I  thought,  smiling  slightly  at  this 
mark  of  his  emotion.    "His  attachment  is 
indeed  sincere!" 

Taking  possession  of  the  easy-chair  he  had 
vacated,  I  commenced  the  conversation  with 
Miss  Sylvia  by  addressing  her  upon  the  hon 
or  due  every  virtuous  and  indulgent  parent, 
63 


CHERRY 

offering  also,  in  particular,  a  few  hints  trib 
utary  to  Mr.  Gray's  susceptibilities  as  well 
as  his  thoughtfulness  in  continuing  to  remain 
in-doors  (as  he  did)  upon  such  an  occasion; 
whereat  she  seemed  somewhat  cheered. 

I  had  not  long  continued  in  this  strain 
when  there  befell  that  incident  which,  while 
it  might  have  produced  an  impression  almost 
painful  as  a  betrayal  of  the  pitch  to  which  the 
supremity  of  her  sentiments  had  brought  her, 
must  remove  the  last  cloud  from  the  minds  of 
any  who  yet  retain  a  doubt  as  to  the  direction 
in  which  those  sentiments  tended. 

I  was  drawing  to  a  close  my  references  to 
Mr.  Gray's  emotion  and  the  delicacy  of  his 
absence,  when  the  appreciative  smile  that  had 
lightened  her  melancholy  began  to  increase 
with  unnatural  rapidity;  she  seized  convul 
sively  upon  her  lace  kerchief  and  covered  her 
face  with  it.  She  held  it  there  for  several 
moments,  when,  suddenly,  from  beneath  the 
lace  rang  out  a  laugh,  silvery  indeed,  yet  of 
such  wildness  that  I  jumped  to  my  feet  in 
alarm. 

64 


CHERRY 

Nor  did  the  bell-like  cachinnations  cease 
upon  my  action;  louder  and  louder  they 
rang,  as  the  fit  seized  upon  her;  peal  after 
peal  startled  the  stilly  night. 

Never  before,  in  all  my  days,  had  I  heard 
or  seen  any  person  laugh  as  she  did  then; 
never,  have  I  since,  one  who  laughed  so  dis 
tractedly,  so  uncontrollably;  never  one  in 
throes  so  long  protracted.  She  laughed  until 
I  feared  she  might  swoon  from  exhaustion. 

She  rocked  herself  to  and  fro,  and  back  and 
forth,  now  clasping  her  sides,  then  stretching 
forth  her  arms  as  if  for  breath,  and  at  last, 
consumed  by  the  very  anguish  of  laughter, 
utterly  lost  to  her  own  command,  could  only 
faintly  beat  the  air  with  her  hands. 

Thus  did  the  unhappy  demon  of  hysteria 
enter  into  her,  and  although  the  fit  was 
entirely  unlooked-for  on  my  part,  I  remained 
not  an  instant  in  doubt  as  to  its  cause,  re 
membering  well  upon  the  eve  of  what  day 
we  stood.  Hence  I  spoke  soothingly  to  her, 
encouraging  her  to  patience,  reminding  her 
that  my  term  of  absence  would  last  only  a 
s  65 


CHERRY 

few  months,  also  exhorting  her  to  recall  the 
fact  that  I  had  every  intention  of  returning 
for  some  days  at  Christmas-time* 

My  efforts  were  of  little  availt  being  greeted 
by  a  renewal  of  the  attack,  which  came  on 
with  redoubled  force.  So,  having  heard  that 
such  disorders  might  be  quelled  by  distracting 
the  mind  of  the  victim  to  some  interesting 
topic  foreign  to  the  cause  of  the  convulsion, 
I  began  a  description  of  the  catacombs. 

Again  I  failed  to  calm  her.  She  cried  out 
some  words  too  indistinct  for  interpretation, 
but  by  her  pitiful  gesticulations  I  made  out 
that  she  desired  me  to  speak  no  farther 
upon  either  subject,  and  to  leave  her  for  a 
time,  while  she  endeavored  to  compose  her 
self. 

Therefore,  I  retired  to  the  end  of  the 
veranda,  where  I  remained  while  she  arose, 
and,  with  feeble  steps,  paced  up  and  down 
the  path  to  the  gate  in  the  cool  starlight. 
Ever  and  anon  the  symptoms  of  her  malady 
broke  out  afresh,  but  the  outbursts  recurred 
with  less  and  less  violence,  until,  after  the 
66 


CHERRY 

lapse  of  half  an  hour,  or  thereabouts,  she  was 
enabled  to  rejoin  me. 

She  offered  some  embarrassed  apologies; 
but  I  spared  her  maidenly  confusion  by  or 
dering  my  bearing  as  if  nothing  unusual  had 
occurred,  promptly  resuming  the  description 
of  the  catacombs  where  I  had  left  off.  This 
I  followed  with  one  of  those  disquisitions 
formerly  made  for  Mr.  Gray,  one  which  the 
follies  of  Fentriss  had  prevented  her  from 
hearing;  and  it  was  not  long  before  she  was 
completely  restored,  and  her  features  resumed 
their  previous  aspect  of  distress. 

During  the  four  or  five  delightful  hours 
that  followed  —  in  brief,  throughout  the  re 
mainder  of  our  interview — the  signals  of  her 
dolor  increased,  until,  knowing  that  they 
must  be  visible,  and  unable  to  conceal  her 
agitation,  she  excused  herself  and  withdrew. 

After  such  an  evening  who  can  wonder  that 
I  was  fearful  lest  she  break  down  altogether 
when  it  came  to  the  farewells  of  the  follow 
ing  afternoon?  However,  my  apprehensions 
wronged  that  power  of  dissimulation,  in  the 
67 


GMERRY 

presence  of  third  parties,  of  which  her  sex  so 
invariably  shows  itself  mistress,  and  at  the 
final  moment  she  contrived  to  bear  up  with 
surprising  fortitude  and  courage. 

But  Mr.  Gray  —  that  good  old  man,  Mr. 
Gray!  Ah,  there  was  a  parting  indeed! 
The  tears  stood  in  his  eyes;  he  said  "  good 
bye  "  a  thousand  times,  murmuring  under 
his  breath  words  which  I  could  not  catch, 
growing  more  mixed  and  incoherent  every 
moment,  and  finally  quite  giving  way  to  his 
emotions. 

Ah,  how  wonderfully,  little  by  little,  do  the 
seeds  of  affection  grow!  Thus,  at  the  be 
ginning  of  that  summer,  Mr.  Gray  and  I  were 
nothing  to  each  other.  But,  drop  by  drop, 
I  had  watered  the  simple  herb  of  his  attach 
ment  till  it  spread  and  blossomed  into  a 
beautiful  and  wondrous  flower.  There  was 
not  much  in  common  between  us;  often  I  felt 
his  mind  unable  to  accompany  mine  to  those 
higher  pinnacles  of  thought  whereunto  my 
own  desired  to  flee,  and,  after  arrival,  perch; 
nor  can  I  say  that  I  ever  gave  him  my  whole 
68 


CHERRY 

confidence  or  friendship;  yet  the  good  old 
man's  devotion  touched  me. 

His  fingers  worked  convulsively,  so  that  he 
had  to  clinch  them  tight  to  hide  it.  And  one 
of  the  clearest  and  most  vivid  pictures  which 
memory  brings  of  my  youth  is  that  which 
comes  before  me  now,  as  fresh  as  though  it 
all  happened  yesterday:  of  the  good  old  man 
(when  I  turned  and  looked  back  from  the 
road)  standing  there  by  the  steps,  his  right 
hand  outstretched  to  wave  me  farewell,  his 
fingers  still  clinched  to  conceal  his  emotion. 

His  arm  dropped  to  his  side  as  I  turned, 
and  confusion  overspread  his  countenance; 
for  men  do  not  willingly  exhibit  their  deepest 
feelings.  So  I  left  him  there  in  his  trouble, 
with  his  mouth  open. 


i 


FOUND  William  Fcntriss  already 
arrived  at  Nassau  Hall.  Although 
we  rarely  met,  and  had  little  to  do 
with  each  other,  I  made  out  that, 
so  far  as  his  manner  in  public  was  an  ex 
ponent  of  his  condition,  his  downfall  had  no 
improving  effect  upon  him*  To  all  appear 
ances  he  had  recovered  every  whit  of  his 
pristine  jatmtiness;  he  was  no  less  imper 
tinent  and  easy,  betraying  a  consciousness 
70 


CHERRY 

of  the  disgrace  of  his  wrong-doing  by  neither 
those  attitudes  of  shame  to  which  his  tmcle 
had  alluded  nor  by  visible  contrition  of  the 
countenance — not  he! — nor  by  moral  conduct 
and  a  diligent  energy  at  his  books.  Never 
theless,  I  learned  that  he  was  indifferent  to 
that  society  he  had  formerly  sought  with 
eagerness  in  the  surrounding  country,  for 
now  he  shunned  the  ladies,  to  spend  his  time 
dawdling  about  the  country-side  on  long, 
lonely  rambles,  wearing,  in  spite  of  the  gay 
exterior  he  presented  in  company,  a  face  as 
long  and  as  lonely  as  his  peregrinations.  The 
demonstration  of  his  true  condition,  afford 
ing  ample  proof  that  his  gayety  covered  a 
secretly  gnawing  chagrin,  was  revealed  to  me 
through  an  accident. 

On  late  afternoons,  when  the  bright,  de 
clining  rays  of  the  sun  announced  that  the 
day's  work  was  over,  and  the  idler  spirits 
might  have  been  observed  playing  at  toss 
behind  the  imposing  pile  of  Nassau,  the  more 
dissolute  risking  the  tutor's  detection  at  pitch- 
the-penny  in  their  chambers,  it  was  my  habit 
71 


CHERRY 

to  repair  to  the  burying-ground  for  the  pur 
pose  of  varying  my  mental  activities  and 
preparing  my  faculties  for  the  night's  study 
by  contemplation  of  the  headstones  and  spec 
ulations  concerning  the  eternal  punishment 
of  many  whose  bones  reposed  beneath. 

Seated  upon  a  slab  in  that  soothing  spot 
one  pleasant  evening,  toward  twilight,  I  was 
occupied  in  thus  recuperating  my  energies, 
when  my  meditations  were  disturbed  by  a 
long-drawn,  mournful  sigh,  of  such  profun 
dity  it  almost  might  have  been  designated 
sonorous.  The  sound,  emanating  as  it  did 
from  an  unseen  source,  bore  with  it,  in  those 
surroundings,  some  measure  of  alarm,  espe 
cially  as  I  had  believed  myself  quite  solitary. 
Hence  I  sat  quite  still  for  several  moments, 
while  the  slab  became  cold  enough  to  chill 
my  spine,  when  the  sigh  fell  upon  my  ears 
a  second  time.  At  that,  summoning  my 
temerity,  I  got  to  my  feet  and,  moving 
cautiously,  parted  some  bushes  in  front  of 
me  and  peeked  through.  "What  was  my 
astonishment  to  be  rewarded  by  the  sight 
72 


CHERRY 

of  William,  leaning  on  the  fence  with  an  air 
of  complete  dejection,  his  eyes  as  vacant  and 
troubled  as  those  of  a  strayed  animal. 

He  retained  his  dolorous  posture  for  a 
long  time;  then,  without  having  been  aware 
of  my  presence,  he  departed,  sighing  as  he 
went,  and  bending  his  steps  in  the  direction 
of  Rocky  Hill,  instead  of  returning  to  the 
village,  although  it  was  now  the  hour  for  the 
evening  meal  and  the  gloom  of  dusk  was 
settling  down.  Often,  afterwards,  being  now 
on  the  lookout,  I  saw  him  pass  that  way 
(always  fondly  believing  himself  unobserved), 
with  the  same  crestfallen  and  melancholy 
look,  his  head  bowed  on  his  breast. 

The  knowledge  in  this  wise  afforded  me, 
that  his  public  demeanor  was  but  the  mask 
of  a  proud  trickster,  presented  me  a  topic 
for  some  not  unpleasant  reflections.  Tis  well 
for  impudence  to  realize  that,  hide  as  it  may 
under  the  finest  surface,  it  is  no  continuing 
rival  for  true  merit  and  intelligent  attainment. 

The  term  wore  on;  the  holidays  were  at 
73 


CHERRY 

hand.  It  was  late  of  a  windy  night  in 
December,  and  I  had  almost  completed  my 
preparations  for  retiring,  when  there  came  a 
knock  at  the  door*  Candle  in  hand,  I  drew 
the  bolt,  and  there,  to  my  astonishment, 
stood  William  Fentriss. 

I  gazed  upon  him  forbiddingly,  and  in 
quired  his  pleasure. 

He  coolly  entered,  and,  dropping  at  half- 
length  into  my  easy-chair,  crossed  his  legs  in 
an  attitude  of  foppish  languor,  placed  the 
tips  of  the  fingers  of  his  two  hands  lightly 
together,  and  looked  at  me  quaintly,  with  the 
faint  apparition  of  a  smile  in  his  eyes  and  on 
his  lips. 

"I  petition  for  a  word  with  the  master 
of  all  learning/'  he  said,  assuming  a  cheer 
fulness  which  well  I  knew  he  could  not 
feel.  "What  a  charming  nightcap  you 
wear!  Faith,  there'd  be  conquests  a-plenty 
if  you  wore  it  by  day!  Ah,  if  only  the 
ladies—" 

I  interrupted  him.  "I  think  the  subject 
of  conquests  may  be  a  sore  one  for  you  in  my 
74 


CHERRY 

presence*  You  exhibit  a  praiseworthy  forti 
tude  in  referring  to  it/' 

He  stared  at  me  a  moment.  "You  give 
me  my  just  deserts/'  he  rejoined,  slowly. 
"  That  was  well  said.  We  will  leave  conquests 
out  of  our  conversation,  then,  if  you  please. 
And  may  I  suggest  that  you  shut  the  door 
before  you  take  a  cold  in  that  light,  though 
becoming,  drapery  of  yours,  Mr.  Sudge- 
berryr 

I  took  a  comfort  from  my  bed,  and,  folding 
it  round  me,  at  the  same  time  eying  him 
sternly,  again  requested  his  business  with 
me. 

44 1  thought  it  possible  that  you  might 
consent  to  my  company  on  the  journey  home 
for  the  holidays/'  he  answered.  "I  suppose 
you  are  going?" 

"Certainly,  sir/'  I  said. 

44 'If  I  may  make  so  bold,  K7r«  Sudgeberry, 
are  you  going  by  coach?" 

44 No,  sir;  I  shall  travel  upon  the  back  of  a 
horse  my  father  sends  for  the  purpose." 

"Good!  You  will  travel  upon  the  back 
75 


CHERRY 

of  a  horse  your  father  sends  for  the  purpose. 
Now,  I  live  with  my  uncle,  as  you  may  have 
been  so  kind  as  to  notice,  and  my  tmcle  is  to 
send  up  one  of  my  horses  for  the  same  pur 
pose,  as  regards  the  back,  you  observe,  that 
your  father  designs  yours.  Well,  the  roads 
are  vile,  the  weather  is  treacherous,  and  Dr. 
Finley  has  ordained  that  no  one,  under  horrid 
penalties,  may  depart  until  noon  of  the  24th. 
Therefore,  to  reach  home  for  Christmas,  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  leave  here  immediately 
upon  the  stroke  of  twelve;  and,  the  roads 
and  weather  being  what  they  are,  we  stand 
a  chance  of  riding  late  into  the  night,  or 
even  of  being  detained  at  some  way  -  side 
tavern  until  morning.  In  this,  or  any  case, 
I  offer  you  my  poor  company.  And  also/' 
he  continued,  with  a  twinkling  glance  at  me, 
44  we  might  encounter  some  gentlemen  who 
would  be  glad  to  relieve  us  of  our  purses, 
mayhap  cut  our  invaluable  throats.  We 
should  add  to  our  safety  by  making  the  trip 
together.  Do  you  think  you  could  bear  with 
me  for  the  dozen  hours  or  so?" 
76 


CHERRY 

I  turned  the  proposition  over  in  my  mind, 
all  my  inclinations  naturally  urging  me  to 
return  a  peremptory  and  decided  refusal* 
On  the  other  hand,  I  shrank  from  the  con 
templation  of  the  journey,  short  though  it 
was,  in  winter,  without  the  assurance  of  com 
pany;  and  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
"Will  and  I  were  the  only  students  who  would 
be  going  that  way.  The  thought  of  meeting 
rough  fellows  was  exceedingly  discomforting, 
the  vision  of  a  night  attack  in  the  lonely 
wastes  presenting  itself  to  me  with  horror; 
while  my  companion's  easy  reference  to  a 
throat  -  cutting  sent  the  very  chills  to  my 
vitals. 

I  debated  the  matter  carefully,  but  the 
considerations  I  have  mentioned  finally  de 
termined  me  to  close  with  the  offer,  though 
with  much  reluctance,  and  I  so  informed  him. 

"Splendid!  Splendid!"  cries  he,  waving 
his  hand  to  me.  "  Splendid,  Mr.  Sudgeberry! 
Have  your  saddle-bags  packed  and  your  nag 
waiting  by  noon  of  the  24th,  and  then,  faith! 
— sola,  for  home!" 

77 


CHERRY 

His  gayety  sprang  tip  suddenly,  then  as 
suddenly  fell  and  passed  otrt  of  him,  so  that 
in  the  same  instant  he  turned  a  white,  tired 
face  upon  me,  one  much  older  than  he  had 
worn  in  June.  He  went  to  the  door,  bidding 
me  good-night  in  a  melancholy  voice: 

"Sleep  without  dreams,  Mr.  Sudgeberry. 
Pray  for  me!  'Nymph,  at  thine  orisons  re 
member — '  Good-mght,  sir!" 

It  was  long  before  I  slept  that  night;  not 
only  because  William  Fentriss's  remarks  had 
aroused  an  uneasiness  and  fear  of  misadvent 
ure  by  the  way,  which  insisted  upon  recurring 
to  my  wakeful  intellect,  loath  as  I  was  to 
dwell  upon  such  a  subject,  but  I  feared  I 
had  been  hasty  in  my  decision,  and  I  was 
much  disturbed  to  think  that  I  might  be 
seen,  perchance  by  folk  from  our  parts,  with 
this  wild,  reputationless  fellow  for  my  com 
panion. 

There  was  one  contingency  which  I  deemed 
too  remote  to  cause  me  any  anxiety.  Mr. 
Gray  and  his  daughter  were  in  New  York, 
78 


CHERRY 

and  meant  to  return — as  my  advices  from 
home  let  me  know — the  day  before  Christmas. 
William  and  I  should  be  several  hoars  ahead 
of  them,  and  our  chance  of  meeting  was  so 
exceedingly  slight  thatt  though  I  had  no  mind 
the  Grays  should  see  me  riding  in  such  com 
pany,  I  dismissed  the  possibility  from  my 
meditations. 

I  resolved,  moreover,  that  when  we  came 
into  our  own  neighborhood  I  would  make 
some  excuse  to  drop  behind  and  ride  separate 
ly;  and  I  hoped  that  whoever  might  see  us 
together  would  put  the  best  construction  on 
my  conduct,  and  judge  that  I  accompanied 
the  prodigal  in  the  hope  of  improving  his 
courses  and  directing  the  irregular  channels 
of  his  mind. 

I  was  the  more  tranquil  because  of  my 
assurance  that  William  had  no  inkling  of  the 
information  I  possessed — that  is,  of  the  pres 
ent  whereabouts  and  intended  journey  of 
Mr.  Gray  and  Miss  Sylvia.  My  own  fam 
ily  wrote  me  that  it  had  come  to  them 
by  accident,  and,  since  the  night  of  Vawter's 
79 


CHERRY 

visit,  there  had  been  no  communication  be 
tween  the  households  of  Fentriss  and  Gray. 
Mr.  Gray  had  gone  off  suddenly  to  New  York 
on  an  errand  of  business,  taking  his  daughter 
with  him,  and  setting  his  return  for  Christmas 
Eve. 

Deliberating  upon  these  and  other  matters, 
and  repeating  to  myself  fragments  connected 
with  the  morrow's  scholarly  duties,  I  finally 
closed  mine  eyes  in  profound  slumber. 


ROMPTLY  at  noon  of  the  24th  I 
was  cantering  down  Nassau  Street 
on  the  good  Jeremiah,  and  look- 

ing  about  for  William  Fentriss,  who 

was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  I  may 
state  here  that  my  observation  seldom  has 
been  in  fault,  and  I  have  often  remarked 
that  those  who  most  emphatically  impress 
upon  others  the  necessity  for  promptitude 
are  most  apt  themselves  to  be  dilatory.  I 
was  internally  commenting  on  this  fact  with 

6  81 


CHERRY 

appropriate  severity,  when  I  caught  sight  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Finley  coming  up  the  street, 
and  beside  them,  chatting  merrily,  William 
Fentriss,  clad,  with  his  usual  worldliness,  in  a 
long,  white  great-coat,  open  at  the  throat  to 
show  a  heavy  fall  of  lace.  Beholding  me,  he 
waved  his  hat,  and,  turning  to  Mrs.  Finley, 
kissed  her  hand  in  farewell  with  all  the 
outlandish  airs  of  a  man  of  fashion.  Never 
theless,  the  doctor  only  laughed. 

Will  mounted  a  large,  black  horse,  held  in 
waiting  at  the  corner,  and,  sending  a  loud 
view-halloo  ringing  on  the  winter  air,  set  his 
steed  in  motion  to  join  me;  so  we  presently 
left  the  village  at  a  lively  gait.  Once  out  on 
the  country  road,  however,  we  were  forced 
to  pull  into  a  mild  canter,  and  by  the  time 
we  crossed  Stony  Brook  settled  down  to  a 
dull  jog-trot. 

The  day  was  frosty,  the  sky  overcast;  rain 
had  fallen  all  the  previous  night,  but  a  chill 
wind,  springing  up  and  whistling  about  our 
ears  uncomfortably,  stiffened  the  mud  to 
that  intolerable  heaviness  through  which  rapid 
82 


CHERRY 

progress  is  impossible  for  the  stoutest  beast. 
Presently  a  thint  damp  snow  began  to  fall,  and 
I  thought  the  prospect  of  reaching  our  destina 
tion  that  evening  blank  indeed;  certainly  we 
should  be  upon  the  road  till  after  nightfall. 

These  considerations  had  little  effect  upon 
the  liveliness  of  my  companion,  which  had 
come  up  in  him  extraordinarily.  He  seemed 
to  be  in  the  most  cheerful  spirits,  carolling  and 
singing,  and  hailing  everybody  we  met  with 
some  frivolity  or  nonsense  in  regard  to  Christ 
mas  cheer;  and  especially  was  this  the  case 
when  the  person  happened  to  be  a  carter  or 
farmer  with  a  rosy-cheeked  lass  alongside. 
At  such  times  William  would  never  leave  off 
calling  out  compliments  till  they  were  fairly 
out  of  hearing,  while  I,  inexpressibly  mor 
tified,  would  muffle  my  face  in  the  cape  of 
my  great-coat,  hoping  to  escape  identification. 

At  the  very  start  I  had  a  feeling — nay,  a 
strong  presentiment — that  this  reckless  fel 
low  would  disgrace  me  permanently  ere  our 
journey  were  done;  and  my  impression  grew 
stronger  at  the  tavern  in  Trenton,  where  we 
83 


CHERRY 

were  forced  to  stop  to  warm  our  numbed 
limbs,  and  where  I  overheard  him  command 
ing  hot  toddy  for  all  the  loungers  of  the  bar, 
and,  immediately  after,  leading  the  stentori 
an  chorus  of  a  wassail  song  which  made  me 
shudder  to  the  bone. 

As  if  that  were  not  enough,  after  having 
wasted  half  an  hour  in  such  a  fashion,  when 
we  once  more  set  off  on  our  way  a  score  or 
more  of  disreputable,  red -nosed  idlers  pa 
raded  out  in  front  of  the  tavern  and  cheered 
us,  to  my  supreme  embarrassment.  Simul 
taneously,  my  companion  publicly  chucked 
a  young  maid  under  the  chin. 

At  that  I  covered  my  face  completely,  and, 
clapping  spurs  to  my  horse's  sides,  galloped 
away  as  fast  as  could  be,  for  I  had  acquaint 
ances  in  Trenton  that  I  would  liefer  beheld 
me  dead  than  in  such  society,  or  connected 
with  these  scandalous  goings-on. 

The  wind  had  increased  to  such  velocity 

(shifting  its  quarter  till  it  blew  now  in  our 

faces),  and  we  had  squandered  so  much  time 

in  the  town,  that  it  was  after  three  o'clock 

84 


CHERRY 

of  the  afternoon  when  we  reached  the  ferry. 
Finding  ourselves  again  in  motion,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Delaware,  it  came  on  to 
snow  very  hard;  and  the  earth  being  soon 
covered  with  white,  the  roads  became  more 
difficult  than  before,  the  drifts  rendering  the 
footing  treacherous*  Nevertheless,  we  urged 
forward  as  fast  as  able* 

I  stuck  my  chin  in  my  collar,  and  settled 
upon  many  improving  subjects  for  the  con 
versations  which  I  would  have  by  Mr*  Gray's 
fireside*  I  also  selected  the  terms  in  which 
to  couch  my  declaration  to  Miss  Sylvia. 

These  matters  determined,  I  should  have 
turned  from  my  musings,  and,  despite  the 
unfruitfulness  of  the  soil  for  good  seed,  should 
have  essayed  an  endeavor  to  inculcate  moral 
principles  in  the  youth  beside  me;  but  when 
ever  I  opened  my  mouth  to  speak  the  wind 
flew  in  so  quickly  as  to  take  the  words  back 
into  my  throat  before  they  were  uttered. 

Indeed,  the  storm  had  grown  fierce  to  such 
degree  that  Fentriss  now  rode  in  silence,  his 
face  muffled  up  so  that  only  his  eyes  showed, 
85 


CHERRY 

though  ever  and  anon  he  slapped  his  arms 
about  for  warmtht  and  gave  vent  to  ejacula 
tions  the  tenor  of  which  I  gathered  to  be 
anathematical  of  the  weather.  Dusk  closing 
in  early,  our  journey  became  the  more  dif 
ficult,  our  progress  slower  and  slower.  We 
were  nearly  overcome  with  cold,  and  quite 
exhausted,  when  we  reached  the  King  George 
Inn,  and,  seeking  a  temporary  refuge,  thawed 
our  extremities  in  the  tap-room*  The  land 
lord  warned  us  against  continuing  our  journey 
on  such  a  night,  but  we  ventured  again  into 
the  tempest,  deciding  to  go  on  to  Hoag's 
Tavern,  some  five  miles  distant,  where,  in 
case  there  was  no  abatement  of  the  external 
violence,  we  could  spend  the  night. 

It  had  by  this  time  grown  so  bitter  that 
no  covering  afforded  protection  from  the 
blast,  and  our  horses  stumbled  wearily  as 
they  picked  their  way  through  the  drifts  and 
over  the  uneven  ground.  Darkness  fell  upon 
us  with  a  malevolent  solidity,  like  a  black 
bag  cast  over  the  head;  the  wind  howled 
across  the  fields  and  shrieked  dismally  among 
86 


CHERRY 

the  trees.  The  loneliness  of  the  sound,  in 
those  terrifying  solitudes,  would  have  given 
rise  to  a  tremor  in  the  stoutest  heart,  and 
caused  all  the  idle  tales  of  travellers  waylaid 
and  murdered  to  recur,  with  appalling  force, 
to  the  most  serious  and  scholarly  mind. 

At  last,  through  scudding  snowflakes,  the 
welcome  lights  of  Hoag's  Tavern  shone  on 
our  view,  and  soon  after  our  steeds  were 
munching  their  fodder  in  the  stable  two 
guest-chambers  were  being  aired  and  warmed 
for  our  slumbers,  and  we,  divested  of  our 
boots  and  outer  wrappings,  found  ourselves 
seated  at  a  hot  supper  before  a  blazing  fire. 

"So  far,  and  all  well,"  thinks  I,  con 
gratulating  myself  as  we  took  our  places. 
44 1  hope  Mr.  Gray  and  Miss  Sylvia  will  not 
be  driven  to  put  in  here.  That  would  be  a 
malignant  fortune,  indeed." 


AITH,  Mr.  Sudgeberry,  it  was  a 
wicked  wind!"  cried  Fentriss,  hitch 
ing  his  chair  closer  to  the  table. 
"I  am  sure  you  have  suffered  to-day. 
Tis  the  first  time  I  can  recall  ever  being  in 
your  company  when  you  did  not  beguile  each 
minute  with  instructive  discourse;  and  it 
would  have  brought  tears  to  Mr.  Gray's  eyes 
to  see  you  speechless  so  long.  No  doubt  we 
shall  make  up  for  lost  time  this  evening/' 
88 


CHERRY 

He  fell  to  at  the  viands  with  a  vivacious 
appetite,  and,  I  confess,  I  followed  his  ex 
ample;  nevertheless,  though  hungry,  I  did 
not  confine  myself  to  the  satisfaction  of  pure 
ly  physical  wants,  but  seized  upon  the  oc 
casion  to  reprove  my  vis-a-vis  for  speaking 
of  what  was  useful  and  instructive  as  mere 
beguilement,  and  continued  by  pointing  out 
at  length  the  superior  usages  that  conversa 
tion  should  be  put  to,  far  above  any  mere 
passing  of  the  time. 

We  had  almost  finished  our  repast,  and  I 
was  bringing  my  remarks  to  a  summing-up, 
when  we  were  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  a 
traveller,  who,  like  ourselves,  had  been  forced 
to  seek  shelter  from  the  blast  and  abandon 
all  hope  of  continuing  his  journey  till  the 
morrow. 

This  was  a  ruddy  little  man  of  sixty-five  or 
so,  covered  with  snow  from  head  to  foot. 
He  flung  his  saddle-bags  in  a  corner,  shaking 
off  the  snow  with  a  great  fuss  and  stamping 
of  his  jack-boots;  then,  in  a  manner  exhibit 
ing  considerable  flourish,  he  introduced  him- 
89 


CHERRY 

self  as  Mr.  O'Donnell,  of  New  York,  late  of 
Belfast,  travelling  to  Philadelphia  to  spend 
Christmas  with  a  cousin. 

He  accepted  with  alacrity  William's  invi 
tation  to  join  us  at  table,  and,  the  landlord 
bringing  in  fresh  supplies,  he  devoured  his 
victuals  with  such  rapidity  and  gusto  as  to 
overtake  us  at  the  last  mouthful,  by  which 
time  I  had  discovered  that  he  was,  as  they 
say,  a  great  talker,  one  of  too  voluminous 
speech;  that  is,  aimlessly  prolix,  and,  a  la 
mentable  thing  in  one  of  his  years,  without 
that  sobriety  of  meaning — inspired  by  ear 
nestness  of  purpose  alone — which  lends  grace 
and  dignity  to  any  age.  Nay,  his  talk, 
though  incessant,  contained  never  one  round 
ed  period  of  length  and  sonorous  rendition; 
his  utterances  were  as  jerky  as  the  move 
ments  of  his  active  little  body. 

44  And  so,"  he  cried,  as  he  wiped  the  crumbs 
from  his  mouth  and  pushed  back  his  chair — 
"and  so  ye  tell  me  ye're  a  pair  of  scholars 
makin'  home  from  the  hard  study!  Aha! 
Then  I've  heard  of  ye!" 
90 


CHERRY 

"Indeed!"  rejoined  William.  "Mr.  Sudge- 
berry's  learning  is  already  famous,  then?" 

"And  so  it  is!"  exclaimed  the  stranger, 
leaning  back  and  robbing  his  hands  hard  to 
gether,  while  he  looked  from  one  to  the  other 
of  us  and  back  again,  with  eyes  that  twinkled 
very  brightly,  like  a  bird's,  in  the  glow  of  our 
heaping  fire*  In  fact,  he  had  just  the  spry- 
ness  of  a  canary,  in  spite  of  the  bald  head 
and  gray  fringe  of  hair  that  showed  his 
age  more  plainly  when  the  heat  of  the  room 
caused  him  to  lay  aside  the  heavy  periwig 
he  wore. 

"Aha!"  he  cried.  "The  gentleman's  learn 
ing  is  celebrated  to  the  extent  me  ears  fairly 
ring  with  what  I'm  hearin'  of  it.  But,  sirs, 
I've  heard  of  both  of  ye." 

"Of  both  of  us?"  I  echoed,  mystified. 

"Yes,  but  I  have,  though — from  old  man 
Gray." 

"What!"  said  William,  laying  down  his 
fork. 

"Ha,  ha!  I  thought  that  was  the  way  of 
it!"  returned  the  new-comer.  "I  left  New 
91 


CHERRY 

York  this  very  morning  in  company  with 
him  and  his  daughter.  Aha!  which  of  ye  is 
blushing?  Both,  be  all  that's  scandalous! 
Both!" 

William  had  risen  to  his  feet.  "Where  are 
they?  Where  did  you  leave  them?  Are  they 
on  the  road?"  he  cried.  "Do  you  mean  to 
tell  me  they  risked  the—" 

Mr.  O'Donnell  cut  him  off  with  a  roar  of 
laughter. 

44  No,  no !"  he  shouted.  "  Give  me  a  chance 
till  I  present  the  news  of  it.  No,  sir.  'Twas 
yerselves  that  stopped  him — the  pair  of  ye, 
I  mean."  He  rocked  himself  in  his  chair  in 
the  throes  of  enjoyment  so  exquisite  it  was 
nearer  agony,  and  for  several  moments  was 
unable  to  continue.  * 

"Which  of  ye,"  he  sputtered  at  last— 
"now,  which  of  ye  is  the  old  man  hidin' 
that  jew'l  of  a  girl  from?" 

"What,  sir!"  cries  William.  "What,  what, 
what!" 

'Tis  just  as  I'm  tellin'  ye,"  answered  Mr. 
O'Donnell.    "  Old  Gray  was  for  pushin'  home, 
92 


GHCRRY 

spite  of  storm  and  wind  and  all  the  snow  in 
the  world,  he  was,  till  we  reached  the  King 
George  Inn,  which  we  did  some  half -hour 
after  ye'd  left  it.  There  the  landlord  told 
us  two  boys  from  the  college,  makin'  down 
this  way,  had  gone  on  to  Hoag's  for  the  night. 
When  old  Gray  heard  that,  he  asked  in  a 
harry  was  one  of  them  a  handsome,  gay- 
lookin'  rip  with  a  wicked  gray  eye,  and  the 
other — and  the  other — " 

Here  Mr.  O'Donnell  turned  to  me  with  a 
polite  wave  of  the  hand,  and  again  repeating 
"and  the  other,"  was  seized  with  a  fit  of 
choking.  He  scrambled  to  his  feet  and  walk 
ed  about  the  room  in  evident  distress,  gasping 
out,  "Pound  me  on  the  back!"  and,  "Let  me 
have  it  hard!"  with  various  like  objurgations 
between  paroxysms,  the  which  instructions 
William,  who  had  gone  to  his  assistance, 
carried  out  heartily.  When  Mr.  O'Donnell 
grew  easier  and  was  somewhat  master  of 
himself,  he  dropped  into  a  chair,  whispering 
weakly,  with  a  wag  of  his  head  at  me: 

"And  the  other— like  yerself,  sir!" 
93 


CHERRY 

44  What  happened  next,  if  you  please?" 
asked  William,  anxiously* 

"The  landlord  told  him  yes,  ye  were,  and 
Gray  swore  never  another  step  from  the  place 
would  he  budge  the  night.  That  left  me  to 
come  on  alone/' 

"Then  they  are  at  the  King  George?" 

"Where  else?  Yes,  sir — five  miles  back. 
The  old  gentleman  said  he  didn't  mind  dyin' 
by  storm  or  freezation.  'It's  a  comparative 
ly  sudden  death,'  says  he,  'and  I  understand 
it's  painless  and  easy  over.  But  I'll  not  risk 
worse,'  says  he.  'I've  borne  all  I  will  of  it,' 
says  he,  makin'  use  of  some  expressions  I'll 
not  shock  ye  with,  'so  here  we  stay  the  night!' 
Gentlemen,  there  was  something  about  his 
manner — to  be  frank  with  ye — that  almost 
led  me  to  conclude  that  ye're  not  exactly  his 
favorite  scholars;  and  I  believe  I  should  be 
performin'  a  sacred  duty  to  warn  ye  against 
continuin'  whatever  it  is  ye've  been  doin' 
to  him,  because  he  may  work  ye  harm.  He 
was  the  desperate-lookin'  old  man  when  he 
said  that  same!" 

94 


CHERRY 

William  began  to  pace  the  floor  with  hur 
ried  steps,  but  I  was  plunged  into  solemn 
cogitations.  Judge  of  the  mixture  of  my 
feelings,  my  sentiments,  when  I  learned  that 
the  charming  object  of  my  affections  was  so 
close  at  hand,  and,  indeed,  that  I  should  have 
seen  her  this  very  evening  at  Hoag's  except 
for  William  Fentriss's  presence  there;  and 
oh,  alas!  my  mortification  that  she  and  her 
father  should  learn  I  was  his  travelling-com 
panion!  Gossip  is  not  always  utterly  evil, 
since  it  was  gossip  took  down  William's  spir 
it;  but  'tis  a  very  petard,  dangerous  to  the 
innocent,  in  the  mouth  of  such  a  one  as  that 
prating  old  landlord  of  the  King  George,  a 
needless  babbler  whom  I  loathed  with  an 
acute  loathing. 

4 'What  time  does  Mr.  Gray  intend  to  go 
on  with  his  journey?"  Fentriss  inquired,  over- 
carelessly,  of  Mr.  O'Donnell. 

"He's  up  at  five  in  the  morning,  the  mad 
old  ripster,  hopin'  to  get  by  while  ye're  still 
asleep,  and  looks  to  be  home  for  to-morrow's 
breakfast.     They  start  before  dawn." 
95 


GhERRY 

"How  does  he  travel ?"  asked  William. 

"How  does  he  travel?"  echoed  the  other. 
"Faith,  then,  on  the  road!" 

"No,  no;  I  mean  his  travelling-carriage. 
Has  he— " 

"His  own  chaise  and  four." 

"Oh!"  said  William.  "Thank  you."  He 
paused  in  his  walking  the  floor,  and  stood  by 
the  chimney-piece  regarding  the  rosy  flames 
attentively,  prodding  a  log-end  with  his  slip 
per.  "  Postilion?"  he  asked. 

"Two  boys;  fine  cattle  under  'em,  sir." 

"Ah!    Man  atop  with  a  blunderbuss?" 

"No.  The  times  are  not  so  bad  as  that, 
are  they?" 

"Well,"  returned  Fentriss,  reflectively, 
"there's  no  telling.  The  boys  have  pistols, 
have  they?" 

"Have  they  pistols?  Is  there  an  escort  of 
dragoons?  Do  they  carry  artillery?  And 
have  I  fallen  in  with  a  couple  of  highwaymen? 
Holy  powers!"  cried  our  new  acquaintance, 
rising  excitedly.  "Holy  powers!  I  under 
stand  ye!  It's  an  elopement  ye're  planning!" 
96 


CHERRY 

"Nay,  nay!"  exclaimed  William,  turning  a 
furious  crimson,  and  lifting  both  hands  in 
protest*  "My  dear  sir — my  dear  sir — " 

"Dear  sir,  dear  sir!"  shouted  the  little  man, 
mocking  him.  "Don't  ye  'dear  sir'  me! 
I  thought  ye  were  precious  solicitous  for  the 
old  gentleman's  safety*  Aha!  'A  gay-look- 
in'  rip,'  says  Gray — 'a  gay-lookin'  rip,  with 
a  wicked  gray  eye!'  A  wicked  gray  eye! 
Faith,  he  knew  ye!  Aha!" 

"Nay,  nay!"  cried  William* 

"Ay,  ay!"  exclaimed  the  other,  dancing 
across  the  floor  with  his  hand  outstretched 
to  William.  "Ay,  ay!  And  upon  me  im 
mortal  soul,  what's  more,  I'm  in  with  ye! 
I  must  be  counted  in!  I  wouldn't  have 
missed  it  for  all  the  world  and  universe. 
Ye'll  find  me  a  great  hand  at  the  business,  sir. 
I'm  along  in  years,  they'll  tell  ye,  but  into 
every  wickedness  came  near  me  since  the  age 
of  five;  goin'  miles  and  miles  out  of  me  way  to 
embroil  meself  in  any  and  aTl  dev — " 

"This  is  wild  talk!"  interrupted  William, 
waving  him  away. 

7  97 


GH ERRY 

"So  it  is!"  shouted  Mr.  O'Donnell.  "And 
what's  too  wild  for  a  boy  like  yerself  to  be 
plannin'?" 

"My  dear  sir/'  remonstrated  William, 
"you  forget  my  companion.  I  believe  that 
you  yourself  made  some  allusion  to  the  cir 
cumstance  that  I  have  the  honor  to  be  his 
rival.  Now,  I  ask  you,  is  it  likely  that  we — " 

"What  o'  that?  Can't  the  two  of  ye  fight 
it  out?  Can't  ye  toss  up  for  yer  jew'l,  once 
ye've  got  her  away?  Have  ye  no  spurit? 
Have  ye  no — " 

"Will  you  hear  me?"  William  broke  in, 
impatiently.  "You  wrong  Mr.  Sudgeberry 
as  completely  as  you  misunderstand  me.  I 
haven't  a  ghost  of  the  intention  you  impute, 
especially  since  an  elopement  would  be  far 
from  the  point,  and,  if  I  should — if  I  should, 
I  repeat  —  if  I  should  entertain  any  pre 
posterous  and  impossible  design  whatsoever, 
then,  sir,  let  me  tell  you  that  the  mere 
presence  of  this  sober-minded  and  well- 
behaved  comrade  of  mine,  Mr.  Sudgeberry, 
here,  would  cause  me  to  abandon  it  in  its 
98 


CHERRY 

conception  and  be  ashamed  I  could  conceive 
it,  such  is  his  restraining — nay,  his  solemn — 
influence/' 

Mr.  O'Donnell  gave  a  sounding  slap  to  his 
thigh,  went  close  to  William  and  looked  him 
earnestly  in  the  eye  for  several  seconds,  end 
ing  with  the  flicker  of  one  of  his  eyelids. 
William's  glance  wandered  to  me,  then  fell, 
abashed;  and  at  this  the  other  began  first  to 
smile  and  next  to  laugh. 

"Me  boy/'  he  cried— "me  boy,  I  like  ye," 
and  clapped  him  on  the  back  with  a  thump 
that  nigh  carried  the  recipient  off  his  feet. 
44 1  like  ye!  I  make  no  doubt  we  shall  spend 
as  pleasant  an  evening  as  the  heart  could 
desire,  even  if  ye're  not  for  whippin'  away 
from  old  Gray  with  that  lovely  girl  across  yer 
saddle.  Let  be  the  elegant  storm  a-ragin' 
out-doors,  'tis  all  the  tidier  night  we'll  make 
within!" 

They  shook  hands,  laughing  together  in 
creasingly,  presenting  a  picture  of  unseemly 
merriment,  of  which  I  could  make  nothing, 
but  sat  staring  at  them  in  wonderment. 
99 


CHERRY 

"I'm  thinkin*  I  understand  ye,  Mr.  Fen- 
triss,"  said  O'Donnell.  "I  should  offer  me 
very  warmest  apologies.  Such  a  thing  would 
never  enter  yer  mind.  Of  course  not.  Of 
course  it  wouldn't.  Of  course!" 


LL  conjectures  in  regard  to  the 
strange  hilarity  of  William  and  our 
new  acquaintance  were  cut  short 

by    the    arrival    of    the    landlord, 

Hoag,  a  man  of  monstrous  fatness, 
who  waddled  in,  bearing  a  bowl  of  like  cor 
pulence  steaming  with  brown  punch,  followed 
by  several  servants  bringing  fresh  logs  for 
the  fire  and  pipes  and  tobacco. 

"By  your  leave,   gentlemen!"  cried  the 
host.    "By  your  leave!    You  are  the  only 


CHERRY 

guests  in  the  house  to-night,  and  on  such  an 
occasion  I  hope  you'll  not  think  I  presume 
in  begging  you  to  be  guests  of  the  house  as 
well.  'Tis  the  custom  of  Hoag's  place,  and  I 
pray  you'll  join  me  in  this  cheer  of  Christmas 
Eve/' 

If  the  choice  had  been  left  to  me,  I  should 
have  declined  the  invitation;  but  my  two 
companions  greeted  it  with  unmistakable  fa 
vor.  Mr.  O'Donnell,  without  any  words  on 
the  matter,  sped  toward  the  bowl  as  if  he 
had  been  shot  at  it,  filling  a  cup  for  him 
self  before  it  reached  the  table,  and  launched 
a  song  upon  the  instant. 

"Then  singl"    He  began,  loudly: 

"Good  cheer  to  him  who  loves  a  maid! 
Hooroo  for  him  who's  not  afraid, 
For  her  dear  sake, 
The  laws  to  break  I 
"We*!!  sing  to  him,  and  yet  we  say: 
Lord  save  the  King  and  the  King's  highway!" 

"And  I  give  ye  the  health  of  me  new 
comrade-in-arms,  Mr.  Fentriss!"  he  finished. 
Soon,  to  my  vast  annoyance,  the  room  was 
102 


CHERRY 

reeking  with  the  noxious  fumes  of  tobacco, 
while  the  rafters  rang  to  the  laughter  of 
William,  Mr.  O'Donnell,  and  the  fat  landlord, 
as  they  pledged  each  other  (and  everything 
else  under  the  sun)  in  the  hot  punch.  Mr. 
O'Donnell  was  the  noisiest  little  man  I  ever 
saw;  he  trolled  forth  a  dozen  catches  and 
ballads  of  Christmas  Eve,  one  after  another, 
without  pause,  and  followed  them  up  with 
wanton  music — on  a  comb  and  paper — of  his 
own  composing,  he  claimed;  and  well  I  be 
lieved  him,  for  more  villanous  sounds  I  never 
heard. 

Finally  he  turned  to  me. 

"Come,  me  young  Erasmus!"  bawls  he,  as 
though  I  had  been  a  mile  away.  "Join  the 
festivities!  Oh,  why  should  the  harp  on  our 
green  hills  be  silent,  and  why  has  me  true 
love  no  welcome  for  me?  Give  us  a  toast, 
me  joyful — or,  can  ye  sing?" 

"Heaven  forbid,"  quoth  I,  rising,  "that  I 

should  become  a  practitioner  of  levities!  Why 

a  series  of  noises  at  varying  pitches  should  be 

held  pleasing  to  the  ear  has  always  passed 

103 


CHERRY 

my  comprehension*  We  are  now  rapidly 
approaching  an  age  when  such  barbarous 
proclivities  of  the  more  advanced  Caucasian 
races  shall  be  relegated  to  those  savages  from 
whom  they  have  sprung — an  age  which  every 
rational  intellect  must  anticipate  with  symp 
toms  of  earnest  pleasure/' 

Thereupon,  the  landlord,  Mr.  O'Donnell, 
and  William  Fentriss  having  seated  them 
selves,  I  branched  into  a  description  of  the 
glories  of  the  coming  era.  I  dilated  upon 
the  achievements  of  scholarship,  going  at 
length  into  the  researches  of  science  and 
learning  during  the  last  five  centuries,  and 
after  comparing  our  present  theories  with 
those  of  the  ancients,  deduced  the  results 
which  must  inevitably  follow  (in  the  future) 
the  trend  of  modern  thought,  finally  con 
cluding  with  a  carefully  correct  quotation 
from  a  work  of  infinite  merit  which  exactly 
coincided  with  my  own  views. 

Let  it  never  be  denied  that  true  learning 
commands  respect  even  among  the  most  ri 
bald  minds:  for  I  was  listened  to  with  the 
104 


CHERRY 

most  flattering  attention.  Fentriss,  gazing 
into  the  fire,  appeared  to  be  revolving  my 
observations  with  profound  consideration; 
Hoag  had  ensconced  himself  in  the  shadow 
of  the  chimney  -  piece,  so  that  he  could  be 
discerned  only  dimly,  but  his  absolute  silence 
betokened  entire  attentiveness;  while  little 
Mr.  O'Donnell,  favoring  me  with  an  extremely 
polite  interest,  sat  on  the  edge  of  his  chair  and 
followed  my  every  gesture  with  open  mouth. 

As  I  concluded,  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  and, 
seizing  a  candle  from  the  shelf,  exclaimed 
that  he  must  see  me  to  my  room  himself. 

"For,"  cries  he,  "I  see  that  ye're  worn  out 
and  need  rest,  and  our  worthy  landlord  is  so 
immersed  in  meditation,  brought  on  be  the 
masterly  conversation  with  which  we've  been 
favored,  that  I'll  just  save  him  the  trouble. 
Aha!  'Tis  the  wonderful  man  ye  are,  Mr. 
Sudgeberry!  I  perform  a  bit  in  the  same 
way,  meself,  but  ye're  miles  and  miles  ahead 
of  me.  Ye've  talked  for  an  hour  and  a  half 
beyond  any  one  I  ever  heard  before!  I 
gathered  something  of  yer  powers  from  what 
105 


CHERRY 

Mr*  Gray  said  at  the  King  George,  bat  he 
didn't  do  ye  half  justice*  He's  too  old  to  put 
it  the  way  it  should  be*  and,  besides,  his 
vocabulary  is  too  small  for  it*  It  would  take 
a  young  man — yes,  sir,  and  an  athlete  at 
that — in  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties, 
to  describe  ye  properly,  sir*  Indeed,  sir/'  he 
went  on  to  say,  as  he  lighted  me  up  the 
stairs,  "ye've  surpassed  me  wildest  expecta 
tions  of  ye,  and  they  were  great!" 

Then,  when  he  turned  to  leave  me,  at  the 
door  of  my  room,  he  asked,  "Me  boy,  how 
old  are  ye?" 

"Nineteen,"  I  returned* 

"Nineteen!"  quoth  he*  "Nineteen!  'Tis 
just  stupendous!  Nineteen!  Ah,  I'm  wish- 
in'  I  could  see  ye  in  yer  prime!" 

Not  without  a  higher  opinion  of  Mr.  O'Don- 
nell,  and  a  fear  that  I  had  done  him  scant 
justice  in  my  first  rating  of  him,  I  entered 
my  chamber  and  prepared  for  the  night. 

As  I  composed  my  limbs  for  slumber,  my 
thoughts  were  divided  between  regret  that 
106 


CHERRY 

my  friends  had  heard  of  my  present  associa 
tion  with  Fentriss  and  musings  on  the  de 
lightful  meeting  of  the  morrow*  Reflecting, 
however,  that  my  mind  might  be  better  em 
ployed,  I  mentally  repeated  an  oration  of 
Cicero,  in  order  to  assure  myself  that,  even 
after  the  fatigue  of  the  day,  my  memory 
retained  its  customary  vigor  and  accuracy. 
It  is  in  great  part  to  this  diligent  habit  of 
my  youth  that  I  owe  whatever  reputation  I 
enjoy  to-day.  (It  would  be  idle  for  me  to 
deny  that  some  little  talk  of  me  is  current 
beyond  our  neighborhood.)  For  of  all  my 
parts  and  faculties,  my  memory  has  achieved 
the  most  celebration* 

Thus  occupied,  I  presently  found  myself  in 
a  fair  way  to  peaceful  sleep,  when  a  great 
disturbance  —  shouting  and  laughter,  roaring 
songs,  and  the  clinking  of  glasses  —  broke  out 
in  the  room  below,  warning  me  that  those 
pernicious  revels,  which  I  congratulated  my 
self  I  had  subdued  by  a  rational  conversa 
tion,  were  again  in  progress. 

The  tavern  was  of  a  shambling  construc- 
J07 


CHERRY 

tion,  walls  and  floors  undeadened,  whereby, 
the  room  in  which  the  roisterers  sat  being 
directly  beneath  me,  I  could  not  fail  to  catch 
every  sound.  And  it  was  not  long  before  my 
elevated  opinion  of  Mr.  OfDonnell  had  sunk 
again  to  an  extreme  low  ebb,  and  I  fell  into 
a  great  pity  for  his  cousin  in  Philadelphia  and 
the  people  at  the  house  he  said  he  was  on  his 
way  to  visit. 

Nay,  my  meditations  took  a  more  sombre 
turn.  What  assurance  had  I  that  the  little 
man  was  what  he  represented  himself  to  be? 
Was  there  not,  indeed,  at  least  a  possibility 
his  business  might  be  of  so  dark  a  nature 
that  I  shuddered  to  put  a  name  to  it? 
Why  had  he  accompanied  the  Grays  from 
New  York?  Why  had  he  not  remained  at 
the  King  George  with  them?  Why  had  he 
pushed  on  down  the  road  ahead  of  them? 
Was  it,  as  he  had  represented,  simply  to  be 
nearer  his  destination  that  he  had  braved 
the  perils  of  the  storm? 

These  vague  questionings  and  suspicions 
(surely  not  quite  unjustified  in  relation  to 
108 


CHERRY 

one  who  rode  alone  at  night  in  such  weather) 
were  far  from  being  soothed  by  the  nature 
of  the  song  the  little  man  shouted  amid 
great  applause  from  Fentriss  and  Hoag,who 
joined  in  the  chorus. 

"I'll  now  give  ye,"  I  heard  O'Donnell 
say — "I'll  now  give  ye  a  favorite  song  of 
the  road,  and  the  name  of  it's  called  'The 
Old  Bold  Boy/  " 

Forthwith  he  began: 

"  When  the  moon  swings  green 

On  the  hills,  I  ween, 
There's  a  rider  that's  shy  from  view: 

He  rides  in  the  shade 

At  the  edge  o'  the  glade, 
"When  the  lumberin'  coach  is  due. 

Bold  Boy  loves  a  cloud 

On  the  night,  like  a  shroud, 
"When  the  blunderin'  coach  is  duel" 

"Chorus:  (Now  all  of  ye  /om  in!) 

"  Lord  save  the  King  and  the  King's  highway! 
Bold  Boy  he's  oat  till  the  break  o'  day. 
Good-luck  to  him  and  his  Fancy,  tool 

From  yokel  to  bishop 

The  passengers  dish  up 
The  jewels  he  hangs  on  his  Nancy  true. 

J09 


CHERRY 

Me  song  celebrates  him; 
The  judge  elevates  him; 
Good-luck  to  him  with  the  grand  Hooroo! 

"  For  the  dark  it's  joy 

To  the  Old  Bold  Boy, 
As  a-gallopin'  out  he  rides; 

And  a  song  he  trolls — 

(Lord  save  our  souls! 
Better  larrup  the  leaders'  sides!) 

When  ye  hear  that  song, 

As  ye  lope  along, 
Lay  the  lash  to  the  leaders'  sides!" 

"Chorus:     (Can't   ye    make    it  just  a  bit 
louder?) 
44  Good  cheer  to  him  who  loves  a  maid/'  and  so  on. 

**  How  his  mare  caracoles 
At  thought  of  the  tolls 
He  gathers  so  debonair! 

And  the  mist  hangs  gray 
On  the  dancing  bay, 

Like  the  beards  of  old  men  hung  there. 
On  them  both  hangs  the  mist, 
From  fetlock  to  fist, 
Like  the  beards  of  old  men  hung  there!" 

f<  Chorus :  (Faith,  ye  did!  Here  ye  come  again. ) 

"  Lord  save  the  King,"  and  the  rest  of  the  rakehelly 
nonsense. 

no 


CHERRY 

The  chorus  was  variable,  alternating  that 
just  quoted  with  the  one  sang  by  Mr. 
O'Donnell  upon  the  entrance  of  the  punch 
bowl.  He  bellowed  eleven  or  twelve  stanzas 
of  this  ominous  ditty,  and  the  others  joined 
the  chorus  each  time,  with  a  palpable  in 
tention  to  raise  the  roof,  the  punch  having 
gone  to  their  lungs. 

Song  succeeded  song,  ballad  followed  bal 
lad,  chorus  begat  chorus.  It  was  marvellous 
how  three  men  could  make  so  much  noise 
and  so  persistently.  They  kept  it  up  till 
I  thought  the  pangs  of  exhaustion  must 
have  caused  them  to  cease,  but  the  passage 
of  hours  only  appeared  to  increase  their 
vigor.  Meanwhile,  the  depth  of  my  indigna 
tion  (supplanting all  alarms)  maybe  imagined. 
For  a  long  time  I  tossed  from  side  to  side, 
until,  quite  worn  out  with  the  effort  to  ob 
tain  relief  in  slumber,  I  lay  on  my  couch  in 
distress  too  great  to  move  another  inch. 

The  only  respite  I  obtained  was  for  half  an 
hour  or  so,  during  which  the  three  held  an 
earnest  conversation  in  very  low  tones.  The 

in 


CHERRY 

tenor  of  it  I  could  not  determine,  though  ever 
and  anon  they  gave  vent  to  delirious  chuck- 
lings  and  exclamations.  Once  I  heard  the 
landlord  mention  my  own  name,  and  Fentriss 
assuring  him  that  I  was  long  since  sound 
asleep,  and  tired  enough  to  snore  until  late 
in  the  morning.  Hoag  left  the  party  after 
this,  and  I  heard  him  hallooing  in  the  hall, 
as  if  to  awaken  sleepers: 

"Bates!  Bates!  Hi,  Nick  and  Tom  and 
the  rest  of  you !  You're  wanted.  Hi, 
Bates!" 

Soon  I  made  out  that  he  returned  with 
four  or  five  men  who  walked  with  heavy 
steps,  servants  about  the  inn,  I  supposed, 
hostlers  or  what  not.  They  were  invited  to 
fill  their  glasses,  complying  with  great  laugh 
ter  and  a  hoarse  song  to  Christmas,  following 
which  Mr.  O'Donnell  sang  his  song  of  the 
road  again — twice! 

The  addition  of  the  low  party  to  the  com 
pany,  and  their  all  joining  in  toasts  and  sing 
ing,  produced  a  hubbub  which  was  like 
utterly  to  confound  my  feverish  brain.  At 

m 


CHERRY 

last  exhausted  nature  claimed  her  own,  and, 
in  spite  of  the  goings-on  beneath  me,  I 
dropped  into  a  painful  stupor,  not  to  be 
called  sleep,  but  a  state  nearer  a  swooning 
perturbation  of  the  whole  being  than  slumber, 
and  troubled  by  malignant  visions*  More  as 
it  were  in  dreams  than  in  reality,  it  seemed 
a  semi-quiet  fell  in  the  room  below;  after 
that  a  sound  of  feet  stumbling  over  the 
whole  house,  in  every  part  and  division  of  it, 
and  of  doors  flung  open  and  slammed  to. 
One  called  loudly  for  his  boots,  and  Fentriss's 
voice  said,  "Hush!"  Another  fell  over  a  chair 
and  cried  out  with  vehemence. 

Then  all  was  still,  and  I  had  a  long  dream 
of  a  battle  wherein  I  suffered  greatly. 


— J    MR.  SUDGEBERRY'S 
RECKLESS   HUMOR 


M 


ETHOUGHT  I  was  unable  to  stir 
from  the  point  of  contact  between 
two  great  regiments  of  horse,  charg 
ing  down  on  each  other,  while  they 
thundered  this  chorus: 

"For  her  dear  sake, 
The  laws  to  break  I 
We'll  sing  to  him,  and  yet  we  say: 
Lord  save  the  King  and  the  King's  highway!" 

but  at  the  crucial  moment  I  saved  myself  by 
H4 


CHERRY 

waking  with  a  jump  so  sadden  that  it  seemed 
to  stop  my  heart.  Fear  was  still  upon  me; 
I  found  my  back  a-creep  with  cold  and  all 
my  being  alert  to  unknown  horrors  closing  in 
on  me  through  the  darkness. 

Everything  was  silent — silent!  I  sat  up 
in  bed  and  listened. 

"Bold  Boy  he's  out  till  the  break  o'  day/' 

There  came  faintly  to  my  hearkening  ear 
the  murmur,  like  a  failing  echo,  of  that 
satanic  chorus,  as  if  it  came  from  far  down 
the  road: 

"  Good-lack  to  him  with  the  grand  HoorooF 
The  suspicions  I  had  entertained  of  O'Don- 
nell  sprang  up  full-armed  in  my  mind,  bear 
ing  with  them  thoughts  so  wild  that  a  fit 
of  sinking,  deep  in  my  inwards,  was  their 
accompaniment.  When  I  had  mastered  my 
emotions  somewhat,  I  had  a  vivid,  painful 
apprehension  that  there  was  a  strange  pres 
ence  in  the  room,  the  which  conception 
finally  growing  so  intolerable  that  I  crept 
out  of  the  covers  strategically,  went  to  the 
US 


CHERRY 

door,  and  felt  to  see  if  it  could  be  still  bolted. 
All  was  secure* 

Returning  cautiously  toward  the  bed,  I 
overturned  a  chair.  It  fell  like  a  church* 

The  noise  of  it  in  the  hush  ran  through  the 
house  in  a  ghastly  resonance,  seeming  to 
rattle  the  doors  of  a  hundred  empty  rooms 
for  admission.  I  stood  stock-still,  and  the 
renewed  silence  was  as  startling  as  the  noise 
had  been. 

Then  again,  as  I  stood  there.  I  heard  the 
murmur  of  the  highwayman's  chorus,  farther 
away,  fainter: 

"  Me  song  celebrates  him; 
The  judge  elevates  him!" 

I  tiptoed  to  the  window  and  looked  out. 
The  tempest  had  long  since  passed;  the  night 
was  clear  and  brilliant  with  stars  over  great 
wastes  of  snow.  In  the  distance  I  made  out 
a  dark  patch  against  the  vasty  white,  a  blur 
of  shifting  shape. 

This  blur  was  moving  slowly,  steadily 
northward.  I  peered  long  into  the  distance; 
U6 


CHERRY 

my  sight  grew  clearer,  and  I  saw  what  it  was: 
a  group  of  men  and  horses.  They  were  go 
ing  up  the  road  —  the  significant  and  sinister 
thought  flashed  into  my  mind — toward  the 
King  George  Inn! 

Not  daring  to  risk  a  candle,  I  began  to 
grope  for  my  garments,  and  to  get  them  upon 
me  as  rapidly  as  was  consistent  with  complete 
noiselessness,  shivering  with  unspeakable  mis 
giving  at  the  least  rustling  caused  by  my 
haste  and  the  darkness.  It  was  impossible  to 
find  all  my  apparel  under  such  conditions; 
indeed,  I  put  forth  no  efforts  toward  a  toi 
let,  being  occupied  more  acutely  with  con 
siderations  of  an  apprehensive  character. 

What  was  Hoag's  Tavern?  Could  it  be 
one  of  those  ominous  hostelries  where  men 
entered  but  departed  never? 

I  had  not  stopped  at  the  place  before, 
nor,  on  my  passing  by,  had  I  done  better 
than  merely  to  note  its  existence.  I  re 
membered  no  word  of  its  repute.  Who  and 
what  was  the  landlord?  What  connection 
had  he  with  O'Donnell?  And  into  what  plot 
\\1 


CHERRY 

had  they  persuaded  the  weak,  the  reckless 
Fentriss? 

Was  it  possible  that  they  had  decoyed  him 
to  his  destruction?  or  had  he,  giving  way  to 
the  desperation  of  a  despised  suitor,  and 
welcoming  any  mad  deed  as  a  relief  from  his 
own  thoughts,  bribed  and  persuaded  them 
to  some  contemplated  violence? 

Above  all  these  grewsome  interrogations 
there  rose  one  of  anguished  self-reproach: 
Why  had  I  —  O  ill  -  considering  youth! — 
rushed  so  blindly  into  the  unknown,  entering 
this  strange  inn,  which  might  be  a  law 
breakers'  rendezvous  for  aught  I  knew,  with 
out  question  or  cavil,  incautiously  walking 
to  my  not  impossible  doom,  alone  and  de 
fenceless? 

They  had  gone  up  the  road  toward  the 
King  George  Inn — what  had  they  left  in  the 
house  for  me? 

As  this  disquieting  suggestion  assailed  me, 

I  looked  down  from  the  window;  it  was  too 

long  a  drop  for  safety;  the  mere  thought  of 

attempting  such   a  thing  was  loathsome  to 

H8 


CHERRY 

my  soul;  and  I  had  no  more  confidence  in 
a  rope  of  bedclothes  than  in  my  ability  to 
construct  one,  or  to  descend  it,  supposing  it 
made.  Hence  I  most  make  my  way  out 
through  the  house;  for  I  had  settled  in  my 
mind  to  get  out-of-doors  by  some  means — 
waiting  there  in  the  darkness  for  what  might 
happen  was  too  horrid  to  consider.  There 
fore,  summoning  the  greatest  degree  of  forti 
tude  consistent  with  the  occasion,  I  stealthily 
slid  the  bolt,  and,  opening  the  door,  stole  out 
upon  the  landing  in  my  stockinged  feet. 

Here  I  remained  a  considerable  time,  mo 
tionless,  though  the  landing  was  very  cold. 
Without  warning,  a  hideous  creak  came  from 
the  stairs  below,  and  I  leaped  back  into  my 
room,  closed  and  bolted  the  door  again. 
Then,  after  some  minutes,  concluding  that 
the  sound  had  been  caused  by  the  chill  in 
the  wood,  I  issued  anew.  Twice  more  did 
the  creaking  oblige  me  to  seek  refuge  within, 
but  at  last  very  desperation  called  upon  my 
will  and  I  descended  the  stairs,  stepping  twice 
on  each  one,  shivering  from  head  to  heel,  the 
U9 


CHERRY 

back  of  my  neck  seeming  to  twitch  with  ap 
prehensions  of  danger  in  the  rear. 

At  the  foot  of  the  stairway  a  patch  of 
faint  light  browned  the  black  floor,  falling 
through  the  open  door  of  the  chamber  where 
the  revels  had  been  indulged.  Now,  em 
ploying  infinite  stealth,  I  pressed  my  body 
close  against  the  wall  in  the  shadow,  and 
crooking  my  neck  so  that  only  the  top  of  my 
head  and  my  eyebrows  might  be  visible  to 
any  occupant  if  he  chanced  to  gaze  at  the 
spot  where  they  appeared  (which  I  had  hopes 
he  might  not  do),  I  spied  within. 

No  one  was  there.  Only  blank  disorder 
met  my  gaze:  the  empty  punch-bowl  broken 
on  the  floor;  the  fire  a  heap  of  smouldering 
ashes;  the  cloth  stained  and  awry;  chairs 
were  upset;  the  one  remaining  candle  burn 
ed  low  in  its  socket;  everywhere  was  the 
dreariest  confusion,  but  all  a-brooding  with 
a  quiet  which  awed  my  soul.  Nevertheless, 
something  in  that  fateful  hush — I  know  not 
what — gave  me  assurance  that  the  whole 
house  was  as  empty  as  the  room  before  my 
120 


CHERRY 

eyes.  From  the  bar  the  ticking  of  the  tall 
timepiece  could  be  heard  —  the  only  sound 
except  my  breathing.  The  hour  sounded. 
It  was  five  o'clock,  and  Christmas  morning. 

Taking  the  candle,  I  peered  into  the  rooms 
on  each  hand,  into  the  hall  and  kitchen;  not 
a  mouse  was  stirring.  Finding  my  boots  in 
the  kitchen,  I  drew  them  on,  lit  a  lantern, 
and  crept  out  of  that  deserted  tavern  by  the 
back  way,  following  the  path  to  the  stables. 

All  about  me  the  snow  was  trampled  as 
by  a  regiment,  and  what  was  my  horror  to 
find  the  stables  as  barren  of  life  as  the  house! 
Nay,  for  here  not  only  man  was  missing,  even 
the  beasts  were  absent;  not  a  horse  was  in 
the  place;  my  own  Jeremiah,  my  last  hope  of 
safety,  gone  with  the  rest! 

Upon  this  discovery  an  uncomfortable 
perspiration  burst  out  of  all  my  pores;  the 
sinking  spell  in  my  inwards  immediately 
followed,  so  that  I  was  forced  to  sit  upon  a 
heap  of  straw  to  collect  my  faculties. 

Now,  in  ruminating  upon  the  painfulness 
\2\ 


CHERRY 

of  my  situation,  as  I  spied  about  the  house, 
I  had  reached  a  certain  conclusion;  also  I  had 
formed  a  determined  resolution,  the  latter 
being  hopelessly  foiled  by  the  absence  of 
Jeremiah  and  all  other  horses.  This  was  the 
conclusion,  and  I  had  no  doubt  of  its  correct 
ness:  an  attack  upon  Mr.  Gray's  carriage  had 
been  meditated,  agreed  to,  and  was  now  in 
process  of  execution,  with  the  abduction  and 
kidnapping  of  Miss  Gray  by  William  Fentriss 
as  part  of  a  design  which  might  include  the 
murder  of  her  good  old  father. 

My  resolution  was:  to  saddle  my  horse,  then, 
taking  the  opposite  direction  from  the  scene 
of  conflict,  to  speed  down  the  road  until  I 
reached  the  first  house  whence  I  could  send 
back  aid  to  the  imperilled  chaise,  while  I 
hastened  on  to  inform  the  authorities. 

Now,  here  was  I  left  by  those  horse-robbing 
villains  not  only  without  the  means  for  such 
a  course,  but  at  the  mercy  of  the  first  wretch 
to  return.  My  blood  paused  in  its  circula 
tion  as  I  thought  of  the  aged  but  reckless 
O'Donnell  or  the  powerful  Hoag. 
122 


CHERRY 

A  daring  idea  entered  my  head  as  I  sat 
there  in  the  straw*  'Twas  a  conception  so 
foolhardy  as  to  cause  my  flesh  to  creep,  one 
which  my  soberer  judgment  condemns  as  the 
rash  project  of  a  youth  of  nineteen*  This 
was  to  reconnoitre — going  toward  the  im 
pending  violence,  mind  you.  instead  of  away 
from  it!  Yet,  favored  by  fortune,  I  believed 
I  might  hope  to  come  through  with  my  life, 
the  more  as  it  was  quite  dark  and  I  was 
under  no  necessity  to  approach  the  rascals 
within  pistol-shot.  Also,  a  four-foot  hedge 
ran  along  the  east  side  of  the  road,  and  it 
was  my  intention  to  creep  forward  in  its 
shelter,  though  the  hedge  was  a  thorny  one, 
to  hearing  distance  of  the  conflict,  if  possible. 

Such  was  the  wildness  of  the  mood  which 
now  took  possession  of  me. 


I 


THE  DOGS  OF  WAR 


BLEW  out  my  lantern,  stole  forth 
to  the  road,  and  began  to  grope 
through  the  snow  behind  the  hedge* 
My   heart   thumped   with    excite 
ment,  while   ever    and   anon,  the 
perilous  case  in  which  I  stood  coming  with 
great  vividness  to  my  mental  vision,  I  paused 
and  reviewed  the  risk  I  ran. 

But  my  reckless  humor  returned  each  time, 
and  with  the  low-muttered  words,  "It  is  all 
for  Sylvia!"  on  I  pressed. 
124 


CHERRY 

My  progress  was  slow,  the  snow  having 
piled  high  on  the  hither  side  of  the  hedge,  and 
so  unevenly  that  several  times  I  stumbled 
and  measured  my  length  in  its  depths,  when 
it  filled  the  tops  of  my  boots  and  penetrated 
every  aperture  in  my  hastily  donned  apparel* 
A  great  quantity  appeared  to  have  wormed 
its  way  inside  my  collar,  where  it  lay  without 
my  having  the  power  to  dislodge  it,  and, 
melting,  ran  down  my  back;  added  to  this, 
my  head  was  very  cold,  my  nightcap  afford 
ing  insufficient  protection,  for  I  had  been 
unable  to  discover  my  hat* 

In  such  discomfort,  my  teeth  chattering 
the  while,  I  had  accomplished  some  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  or  so,  when  I  unfortunately 
fell  into  a  wide  ditch  which  ran  through  the 
field. 

I  was  proceeding  somewhat  cautiously  on 
hands  and  knees  at  the  time,  and  it  was  in 
that  posture  that  I  found  myself  plunging 
through  a  brittle  lid  of  thin  ice  and  flounder 
ing  in  the  water.  More  dead  than  alive,  I 
got  to  my  feet  and  spluttered  my  way  out 
J25 


CHERRY 

on  the  other  side,  with   the   words,    "For 
Sylvia's  and  old  Mr.  Gray's  sakes!"  on  my  lips. 

As  I  climbed  up  the  farther  bank  there  was 
a  sudden  loud  shout  from  the  road,  not  ten 
feet  away.  Startled  as  I  was,  I  recognized 
the  voice  as  that  of  William  Fentriss.  There 
was  an  answering  cry  from  above,  and  a 
man  forced  his  horse  close  to  the  hedge  and 
peered  into  the  darkness. 

Apprehending,  not  withotrt  reason,  a  third 
spell  of  that  dreadful  sinking,  I  crept  close 
under  the  bushes  and  lay  still,  while  the 
streams  of  water  running  from  every  portion 
of  my  attire  melted  the  snow  in  all  directions* 

"Will,  me  boy,"  called  the  second  voice, 
which  I  was  at  no  loss  to  attribute  to  the 
terrible  O'Donnell,  "have  ye  fell  in  the 
brook?" 

"No,"  returned  the  other.  "Some  animal 
must  have  blundered  in." 

"  Some  animal!"  cried  O'Donnell.  " Do  ye 
have  hippopotami  wandering  over  the  fields 
in  this  country?" 

"I  haven't  heard  of  it,  noble  captain." 
126 


CHERRY 

"I'm  thinkin'  'twas  a  pair  of  them/'  went 
on  O'Donnell — "or  more  like  a  drove,  be  the 
splashin'  of  'em*  Keep  yer  eye  open  for  a 
few  elephants,  then!  Where's  me  mask? 
I'm  off  to  take  command  of  me  merry  men. 
Ha,  ha!  Cap'n  Blacknight  and  his  blood 
thirsty  crew!" 

He  set  his  horse  in  motion  and  cantered 
up  the  road,  while  my  veins  stagnated  at  his 
sinister  words. 

"Be  careful  of  your  gallant  roan,  captain," 
William  called  after  him. 

"Aha!  the  steed  of  young  Erasmus!"  the 
villain  yelled  in  return. 

It  was  too  true:  the  Irish  criminal  had 
stolen  my  horse,  lending  his  own  to  some 
other  member  of  the  band.  I  trembled  for 
poor  Jeremiah  in  such  unhallowed  hands, 
but  all  the  resources  of  my  intelligence  were 
immediately  required  by  the  danger  of  my 
own  situation;  for  Fentriss,  leaning  over  the 
hedge,  looking  for  the  supposed  animal,  pres 
ently  discharged  a  pistol  at  a  small  bush 
near  me. 

127 


GH ERRY 

My  first  impulse  was  to  cry  out  and  warn 
him  that  I  was  no  larking  beast,  bat  the 
words  froze  tight  ere  they  left  my  throat,  as 
the  thought  struck  me  with  terrific  force  that 
William's  desperation  must  be  a  thousandfold 
increased  by  the  knowledge  that  he  had  a 
human — instead  of  a  brute — witness  of  his 
enterprise,  and  I  saw  no  hope  in  appealing  to 
his  friendship.  Nay,  I  feared  that  any  dec 
laration  of  my  presence  might  render  his  aim 
only  more  accurate* 

My  position  was  clearly  untenable ;  every 
movement  engendered  a  crisis.  With  Fen- 
triss  and  the  ditch  cutting  off  all  escape  to  the 
rear,  and  the  cut-throat  band  threatening  my 
front,  which  way  was  I  to  turn?  The  pistol- 
shot  decided  the  question  for  me. 

I  began  at  once  to  creep  forward,  and,  as 
soon  as  I  deemed  it  comparatively  safe,  to 
run,  still  leaning  close  to  the  hedge — so  close, 
indeed,  as  to  leave  particles  of  my  wearing 
apparel  upon  its  thorny  projections,  several 
times  being  separated  from  areas  of  such  ex 
tent  they  might  have  been  considered  almost 
128 


CHERRY 

indispensable;  my  face  and  hands  also  suf 
fered  extraordinarily  from  scratches.  Mean 
while,  my  brain  was  in  a  tumult  of  con 
fusion,  a  thousand  questions  surging  through 
it*  Was  the  abduction  of  Miss  Gray  the  only 
design  of  the  scoundrels?  Why  was  Fentriss 
left  behind?  Did  their  plan  include  robbery 
or  murder,  or  both?  Why  had  I  been  so 
venturesome?  Why,  oh,  why? 

Why  had  I  not  remained  in  the  stable  and 
waited  under  a  pile  of  straw  for  daylight? 
There  was  plenty  of  straw  there.  But  here, 
where  my  recklessness  had  driven  me,  was 
only  a  prickly  hedge,  and  the  growing  light 
would  not  save  but  ruin  me  with  its  hideous 
revelation  of  my  position  —  caught  between 
two  fires!  In  the  east  there  was  already  a 
sombre  glow;  the  western  skies,  responding 
with  long,  red  streaks,  betokened  the  ap 
proach  of  dawn,  while  the  horizonal  stars 
waxed  paler  every  moment. 

Suddenly  I  heard  a  shrill  whistle  blown 
from  the  road,  near  by.  At  the  sound  I 
dropped  (almost  involuntarily)  flat  on  my 
9  129 


CHERRY 

face,  then,  peering  through  a  minute  gap  in 
the  hedge,  what  was  my  horror  to  find  I 
had  run  full  into  the  nest  of  them. 

I  recognized  O'Donnell  by  my  unhappy 
Jeremiah,  and  the  treacherous  landlord,  Hoag, 
on  account  of  his  monstrous  girth,  though  all 
faces  were  masked  with  black  cloth.  Their 
followers  were  distributed  on  both  sides  of 
the  road,  every  man  leaning  forward  in  his 
saddle,  listening  intently. 

"Hark!"  said  the  landlord. 

From  the  distance  came  the  faint  cry  of  a 
postilion  urging  his  leaders;  and  then,  carried 
on  the  wintry  air,  a  few  bars  of  a  lively 
Christmas  song  blown  on  the  post-horn. 

"Aha!"  shouted  O'Donnell,  exultantly. 
"Take  yer  places,  me  knights  of  the  road!" 

"Don't  put  me  too  much  in  the  thick  of  it, 
cap'n,"  whispered  Hoag,  plucking  at  the 
other's  arm.  "I'm  a  well-known  man  and 
easy  recognized." 

"Stay  back  a  bit,  then,"  replied  O'Donnell. 
"  But  ye  must  bear  a  good  hand  in  the  noise." 

"Trust  me  for  that,"  answered  Hoag, 
J30 


CHERRY 

wheeling  his  horse  about.  "I'll  do  more 
than  any  ten  men  alive  I" 

He  rode  over  and  reined  in  so  close  to  the 
spot  where  I  lay  that  I  scarce  dared  breathe, 
for  I  could  hear  plainly  his  own  asthmatic 
wheezing*  My  uneasiness  was  thus  augmented 
at  every  turn;  the  man  was  actually  almost 
over  my  head;  indeed.  I  could  have  touched 
his  stirrup  by  passing  my  hand  through  the 
hedge  without  moving  the  rest  of  my  body. 
He  had  an  old,  bell -mouthed  blunderbuss 
across  his  saddle,  and  flourished  a  long  cut 
lass,  wearing  no  sheath  that  I  could  discover. 

O'Donnell,  with  two  others,  rode  slowly 
forward  about  thirty  paces;  three  more  fol 
lowed  them  at  a  slight  distance. 

Then  I  realized  that  the  chaise  had  drawn 
much  nearer;  and,  though  it  was  still  unseen, 
we  could  hear  it  coming  on  at  a  clipping  gait. 
As  the  sounds  which  heralded  its  approach 
fell  clearer  on  the  ear,  mine  heart  seemed  like 
to  burst,  so  great  was  the  flopping  of  it. 

We  could  hear  the  postilion  carolling,  and 
urging  his  horses  between  snatches  of  song. 


CHERRY 

We  could  hear  the  creak  of  the  heavy  wheels 
over  the  snow,  the  rattle  of  harness,  the 
clinking  of  chains;  we  heard  the  rapid, 
muffled  hoof -beats  of  the  four;  and  now,  with 
tossing  heads,  and  the  snow  flying  from  their 
heels,  they  swept  round  a  turn  in  the  road 
and  were  upon  us* 

There  rang  out  on  the  frosty  air  a  shout: 

"Stand  and  deliver!" 

To  my  horror,  the  villain  O'Donnell  fairly 
hurtled  my  poor  Jeremiah  and  himself  against 
the  leaders ;  and  his  immediate  followers  pur 
sued  the  same  tactics,  instantaneously  launch 
ing  their  assault*  The  chaise  stopped  with  a 
shock;  the  leaders  reared;  one  boy  was  flung 
off;  the  plunging  four  were  swung  into  the 
hedge,  while  the  brigands  of  the  reserve 
wheeled  into  line  across  the  road. 

The  second  postilion,  knocked  from  his 
horse  in  mid-act  to  draw  a  pistol,  was  im 
mediately  bound  to  a  tree;  but  there  came  a 
shot  from  the  interior  of  the  vehicle;  a  wom 
an's  scream  was  also  heard  in  that  quarter, 
together  with  an  expression  of  outraged 
132 


CHERRY 

astonishment  and  indignation  coached  in  a 
vocabulary  which  caused  me  to  shudder  for 
old  Mr*  Gray's  future. 

What  followed  was  such  a  confusion  and 
passed  so  quickly  as  to  beggar  all  description. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  ruffians  who  had 
assailed  the  chaise  forthwith  let  out  such  a 
bawling  and  raised  such  an  uproar  and  din 
as  no  mortal  ever  heard  before.  They  dis 
charged  their  pistols  in  the  air.  and  hammered 
the  sides  of  the  carriage  with  hangers  and 
cutlasses,  keeping  up  a  most  horrid  clamor 
and  tumult  the  while. 

In  all  my  agony  of  mind  I  found  time  to 
puzzle  at  such  lunatic  conduct  on  the  part 
of  highwaymen.  It  passed  my  comprehen 
sion. 

By  far  the  most  successful  at  this  ear- 
splitting  was  that  scoundrel  landlord  Hoag, 
so  near  whom  it  was  my  misfortune  to  have 
made  my  hiding-place.  He  began  to  dis 
charge  his  piece  as  fast  as  he  could  load, 
letting  it  off  in  every  direction  under  the  sun, 
now  in  the  air  overhead,  now  in  the  hedge 
133 


CHERRY 

within  a  yard  of  my  body,  so  that  (having 
no  cognizance  that  it  was  not  charged  with 
ball)  I  gave  up  all  for  lost;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  set  up  a  heathenish  bellowing 
and  howling  and  hideous  screaming  and 
squealing,  the  like  never  heard  outside  a 
mad-house* 

The  others,  completely  beside  themselves 
with  envy  of  his  prowess,  put  forth  their  ut 
most  powers  to  outdo  him,  and  then,  indeed, 
such  pandemonium  reigned  there  on  the  road, 
that  cold  Christmas  morning,  as  would  have 
convinced  a  passer-by  he  witnessed  an  orgy 
of  Hades. 

Suddenly,  from  down  the  way,  we  heard  a 
great  cry: 

' '  A  rescue  I    A  rescue  I" 

A  single  horseman  came  galloping  up  the 
road,  the  snow  flying  out  in  a  cloud  behind 
him  and  the  reins  flung  over  his  horse's  neck. 
He  flourished  a  long  rapier  in  one  hand,  a 
pistol  in  the  other,  his  hat  was  blown  off,  and 
his  cloak  flapped  like  a  black  wing  with  the 
speed  of  his  coming. 

J34 


CHERRY 

4 'Hold,  cars/"  he  thundered.  "  Turn,  dogs, 
and  meet  your  doom  I" 

Then,  discharging  his  pistol,  he  flew  into 
the  dark  mass  of  combatants  about  the  chaise. 

It  was  William  Fentriss! 


w 


ITH  the  advent  of  William  the  up 
roar  redoubled* 

A  more  furious  clashing  of  steel 
and  sound  of  buffeting,  combined 
with  grewsome  shrieking  and  heart-rending 
groans,  was  not  heard  at  Blenheim  when  the 
French  and  English  horse  met  by  the  tens  of 
thousands*  Up  and  down  the  road,  across 
and  over,  all  round  the  chaise,  the  combat 
raged,  with  the  horrible  and  prodigious  noises 
136 


CHERRY 

ever  increasing,  while  inside  the  vehicle  old 
Mr.  Gray  never  once  ceased  from  his  frightful 
profanity  throughout  the  engagement. 

A  thousand  cries  pierced  the  ear: 

"Hal  have  at  you,  then  I"  "Back,  Sir 
Lionel  back!"  and  the  like.  "So,  caitiff!" 
"  No  quarter!"  "  Dog,  we  shall  meet  again  I" 

But  over  all  the  fearsome  hullabaloo,  rose 
a  voice  I  knew  for  O'Donnell's  in  spite  of  his 
attempt  to  disguise  it: 

"Fly!  fly,  me  boys!  This  fiend  is  in 
vincible!  Away,  or  we  are  all  dead  men! 
Back  to  the  cave  to  count  our  losses !" 

"Fly!  fly!"  cried  the  others,  and,  "Don't 
forget  the  wounded!"  and,  "Back  to  the 
ca'be!"  "Escape!  escape!" 

They  wheeled  about  with  a  great  clatter 
and  screams  of  fear.  The  rascally  Hoag  let 
off  his  blunderbuss  for  a  last  time,  almost 
directly  over  my  head,  so  that  my  nightcap 
was  burned  full  of  holes  from  sparks  and  my 
face  so  diabolically  blackened  with  the  dis 
charge  that  my  nearest  relatives  might  not 
have  known  me,  and  whole  days  elapsed 
137 


CHERRY 

before  I  rid  myself  of  the  traces.  In 
addition  to  this  outrage,  the  scoundrel  had 
so  infuriated  his  horse  by  the  inhuman  dis 
turbance  he  raised  that  when  he  endeavored 
to  turn  and  join  his  fellow-conspirators  in 
their  flight,  the  maddened  beast  reared  up  on 
his  posterior  limbs,  then  plunged,  and  the 
huge  bulk  of  the  innkeeper  crashed  down 
through  the  hedge  and  landed  with  ex 
traordinary  force  at  my  feet.  At  the  same 
time,  with  the  sound  of  a  smothered  laugh 
and  of  galloping  hoof-beats  through  the  snow, 
the  other  ruffians  made  off  down  the  road 
and  were  gone* 

William  was  setting  the  postilions  at  liberty 
(for  both  boys  had  been  trussed  up)  when 
I  heard  a  sound  most  unlike  those  which 
had  so  horridly  assailed  us.  It  was  the  light 
and  mellow  voice  of  Sylvia,  and  it  shook,  not 
with  fear,  but  with  the  vibrant  thrill  of 
sweeter  agitations. 

She  had  sprung  from  the  chaise  and  was 
standing    by    the    steps,    both    hands    out 
stretched  toward  Fentriss. 
J38 


CHERRY 

"Will!"  she  cried.    "Will!" 

He  turned  to  her,  and  started* 

"You!"  he  said*  "Ah,  how  I  have 
waited!" 

This  brought  me  to  my  feet  instantly. 

"Oh,  double  villain!"  I  shouted.  "Oh,  un 
conscionable  reprobate!" 

They  did  not  hear  me,  nor  in  that  gray 
light  take  note  of  me. 

I  pressed  hard  into  the  hedge  to  break 
through,  regardless  of  being  stuck  by  the 
thorns,  beginning  to  shout  again,  but  I  had 
not  half  the  word  "unconscionable"  out  of 
my  mouth  when  I  was  clasped  about  the 
middle  and  flung  to  earth  beneath  the  weight 
of  the  landlord,  I  on  my  face,  the  ponderous 
miscreant  on  my  back. 

"Hush!"  he  whispered,  angrily.  "All's 
safe  if  we  lay  by,  now.  What  on  earth  were 
you  doing?" 

"Help!"  I  shouted,  but  he  clapped  his 
hand  over  my  mouth  and  held  me  down, 
though  I  strove  frantically  to  rise. 

"Hold  your  tongue!"  he  whispered.  "What 
139 


CHERRY 

do  you  mean?  It's  me,  it's  Hoag;  there's 
nothing  to  fear.  Would  you  spoil  the  fun 
now,  when  we've  carried  all  out  so  nobly,  and 
the  young  man  so  liberal  to  you  lads?  Why 
didn't  you  ride  ahead?  Were  you  thrown, 
too?  It's  Bates,  isn't  it?" 

He  took  his  hand  from  my  mouth,  and  I 
attempted  to  raise  another  shout,  but  he 
buried  my  face  in  the  snow  so  suddenly  by  a 
shove  of  his  hand  on  the  top  of  my  head  that 
only  a  brief  gurgle  was  allowed  to  issue  from 
me. 

"Ha!"  exclaimed  the  landlord.  "Tis  the 
punch,  is  it?  Then  I'll  hold  you  fast  till 
they're  gone,  as  a  warning  not  to  take  such 
advantage  of  a  free  bowl  next  time!"  And 
he  plunged  me  deeper  into  the  snow. 

Next,  that  all  should  be  secure,  he  skewed 
about,  raised  himself  up  quickly,  and,  be 
fore  I  had  time  to  squirm  from  under,  came 
down  upon  me,  sitting,  mostly  upon  my 
head — an  attitude  as  comfortable  for  him 
self  as  it  was  painful  and  disrespectful  to 
me. 

140 


CHERRY 

Only  my  anger  prevented  me  from  swoon 
ing  through  the  miseries  of  my  situation, 
knowing  that  my  perfidious  rival  was  re 
ceiving  the  homage  due  a  hero,  while  I, 
powerless  to  prevent,  must  lie,  not  ten  yards 
away,  choking  with  the  snow  and  rage,  under 
that  monstrosity,  Hoag! 

"In,  in  with  you,  my  boy!"  I  heard  Mr* 
Gray  cry,  heartily*  "You  must  ride  with 
Sylvia.  I  never  knew  such  heroism!" 

"But  my  horse,"  said  William* 

"Til  take  your  horse,"  answered  the  trust 
ing  dotard*  "Not  a  word  —  not  a  word! 
Heavens!  Heavens!  but  who  ever  saw  such 
swordsmanship!  Now,  lads,  halloo,  then! 
On!  on!" 

The  postilions  called,  "Ay,  ay!  Very  good, 
sir!"  They  spoke  to  the  horses,  and  I  un 
derwent  the  agony  of  hearing  the  cavalcade 
move  forward. 

"There!"  said  Hoag.  "You'd  have  made 
a  fine  mess  of  it,  wouldn't  you!  You  ought 
to  be  whacked  for  risking  a  betrayal  of  the 
gentleman;  and  if  you're  forgiven,  it  '11  be  for 


CHERRY 

the  day's  sake,  and  because  of  the  royal 
Christmas  Eve  at  Hoag's." 

A  prodigious  chuckling  shook  its  way 
through  all  the  puffy  flanges  of  his  person. 
44  Ha,  ha!  Of  all  the  wild  nights  I  ever  spent ! 
But  the  fun  of  it!  Ha,  ha!  Oh,  law— me! 
Hark!  So,  then,  they're  gone,"  he  continued, 
as  the  noise  of  the  chaise  grew  fainter  in  the 
distance.  " There!  You  may  get  up,  Bates." 

He  slowly  removed  himself  from  me,  but 
did  not  rise;  instead,  he  merely  rolled  over 
to  the  hedge  in  a  burst  of  laughter. 

"Bates!"  he  cried.  "Bates!  if  you  was 
only  sober,  and  intelligent  when  sober,  the  fun 
of  this  night  would  be  the  death  of  you,  as 
it's  like  to  be  of  me!  That  mad  rogue,  that 
young  Fentriss!  Who  but  one  like  him,  and 
that  ripping,  tearing,  rearing  old  O'Donnell — 
who  but  such  as  them  could  ha'  thought  out 
and  performed  such  a  plan!  And  old  Gray! 
Did  you  hear  him  in  the  chaise?  Did  you 
hear —  Oh,  ho,  ho,  ho!  Oh,  law — me!  Ha, 
ha,  ha,  ha!" 

I  brought  his  roaring  to  a  sudden  end. 
142 


GH ERRY 

The  cutlass  he  had  carried  daring  the  en 
gagement  had  spun  over  the  hedge  ahead  of 
him  when  he  fell,  and  no  sooner  did  he  release 
me  than  I  made  myself  its  master.  This 
done,  I  came  and  stood  over  him,  my  in 
dignation  too  great  for  utterance.  I  looked 
down  at  the  shaking,  shouting  mass  of  flesh 
with  no  more  fear  of  it  than  of  a  kitten,  for 
now,  at  last,  I  understood  the  heinous  plot- 
tings  of  the  night.  No,  it  was  not  fear 
moved  in  my  bosom,  but  an  overwhelming, 
a  righteous,  and  an  all-devouring  wrath.  As 
the  first  measure  of  justice,  the  huge  calf  of 
the  landlord's  leg  striking  my  eye  tempt 
ingly,  without  hesitation  I  lowered  the  point 
of  the  cutlass,  and,  although  his  hilarious 
floppings-about  made  the  feat  somewhat  dif 
ficult  to  perform,  caused  its  point  to  pen 
etrate  the  flesh;  whereat  he  left  off  laugh 
ing  with  a  surprising  shriek,  and  sat  up 
against  the  hedge  abruptly,  rubbing  his 
leg  and  staring  at  me  with  a  countenance 
of  the  utmost  ruefulness  and  consterna 
tion. 

143 


CHERRY 

"  Villain!"  I  cried,  and  threatened  him  with 
my  sword  again. 

"It  ain't  Bates!"  he  whispered,  huskily. 
44  It  ain't  Bates!" 

"Villain!" 

"Who  is  it?"  he  asked,  appealingly.  "Tell 
me  who  it  is." 

"Rascal,  you  know  me  well  enough," 
cried  I. 

"No,  no,"  he  answered,  with  a  frightened 
look.  "Is  it  a  nigger?"  The  light  was  grow 
ing  stronger;  he  could  see  me  plainly,  but 
still  gazed  upon  me  from  head  to  foot  with  a 
bewildered  and  wondering  air. 

"Who  is  it?"  he  repeated. 

"You  thought  me  abed,  but  I  have  been 
a  witness  to  the  whole  villany." 

"Abed  —  abed!"  he  rejoined,  vacantly. 
"But  I  never  saw  you  before." 

I  menaced  him  again  with  the  weapon. 

"No  more  of  this!  And  now,  sin-laden  and 
over-zealous  sergeant  of  Diabolus,"  I  thun 
dered,  "only  one  thing  can  save  you  from  the 
gallows  you  have  richly  merited:  that  is  my 
144 


CHERRY 

intervention,  contingent  upon  your  public 
confession,  as  I  direct;  nor,  if  you  refuse, 
shall  you  know  mercy  or  mitigation!" 

His  eyes  protruded  from  their  sockets  and 
his  hands  went  up  over  his  head  as  high  as 
his  fat  arms  could  lift  them. 

"Lord  deliver  us!"  he  gasped.  "Tis  Mr. 
Sudgeberry!" 


T 


SHRIEKING  "JUSTICE I" 

HE  day  was  coming  on  broad  and 
clear  as  the  landlord  and  I  went 
down  the  road  toward  the  inn, 
he  walking  a  pace  in  front,  under 
compulsion  of  the  cutlass,  and  limp 
ing  somewhat,  partly  from  soreness  and  partly 
because  he  grew  more  and  more  loath  to  pro 
ceed,  while  ever  and  anon  he  turned  a  look  of 
pleading  over  his  shoulder. 

"But,  Mr.  Sudgeberry,"  quoth  he,  "it  was 
only  after—" 

146 


CHERRY 

Whereupon  I  would  cut  him  off  sharply  and 
threaten  him  in  flank  with  the  cutlass.  Thus 
I  drove  him  on,  and  I  did  not  forget  to  im 
prove  the  time  by  delivering  a  severe  discourse 
to  him  upon  the  end  of  the  wicked,  pointing 
out  the  evils  of  punch-drinking  with  loose 
companions,  and  the  pitfalls  that  besiege  the 
unwary  who  listen  to  the  counsels  of  the 
dissolute. 

At  first  he  had  been  prone  to  uncontrollable 
gusts  of  laughter  every  time  his  eye  fell 
upon  me,  or  whenever  I  sneezed.  (The  latter 
affliction  frequently  convulsed  my  person, 
for  my  souse  in  the  brook  had  given  me  a 
violent  cold  in  the  head,  the  which  likewise 
engendered  a  difficulty  of  enunciation,  so 
pronounced  that  I  was  forced  to  render  all 
sounds  of  M  and  N  as  though  they  were  B 
and  D — a  circumstance  I  mention  out  of  a 
fear  that  some  might  fail  to  comprehend 
the  total  of  what  was  inflicted  upon  me 
that  night,  but  not  here  to  be  transcribed 
lest  the  potency  of  my  utterances  be  lost  in 
confusion.)  Long  before  I  finished,  the  land- 
147 


CHERRY 

lord  had  grown  sober  and  plaintive  near  to 
the  point  of  tears. 

"Oh,  that  punch!"  he  exclaimed,  shaking 
his  head  ruefully.  "'Twas  it  led  me  into 
this  business.  Never  again  will  I  touch  a 
drop  of  punch!  Ah,  but  surely  you  don't 


mean — " 


"I  don't  mean!"  I  cried,  hastening  him  on 
with  a  whack  from  the  flat  of  the  cutlass. 
"I  don't  mean!  You  will  see!  Meanwhile, 
you  are  going  straightway  with  me  to  Mr. 
Gray  and  his  daughter,  or  I  hale  you  be 
fore  the  nearest  magistrate  on  a  charge  of 
attempted  robbery  by  force  and  arms  on  the 
king's  highway!" 

He  was  red  by  habit;  now  he  became  sickly 
yellow,  and  remained  so.  "Law!  law!  'Twas 
but  a  hodgepodge  of  a  jest.  What  harm  in 
the  world  was  in  it,  Mr.  Sudgeberry?  Now, 
why  disgrace  Mr.  Fentriss,  and  belike  ruin 
me  and  my  house,  for  this  little — " 

"Confession  or  the  gallows!"  I  answered, 
with  so  inexorable  a  mien  that  he  looked 
even  sicklier  than  before;  and  there  was 
148 


CHERRY 

nothing  like  laughter  in  the  man;  he  could 
only  groan  out  useless  explanations  and 
protests,  sayingt  over  and  overt  "But  we 
thought  you  sound  asleep,  safe  abed,  sir/' 
as  if  that  completely  excused  his  execrable 
conduct. 

I  continued  to  threaten  him  with  both  the 
weapon  in  my  hand  and  the  terrors  of  the 
law  until,  as  we  approached  the  inn,  his  great 
body  seemed  too  much  weight  for  his  knees, 
and  he  was  but  a  heap  of  flesh  and  sorrow. 

"Confession  is  your  only  salvation!"  I  ex 
claimed,  repeatedly.  "Otherwise  you  climb 
the  gallows  steps.  Hasten!  We  follow  them 
to  Mr.  Gray's,  instantly." 

"Ah,  now  if  you'd  but  listen!"  he  ex 
postulated.  "Mr.  Fentriss  is  your  friend; 
this  will  destroy  him  if  you  proceed  with  it. 
You  can't  mean  to  do  him  such  an  ill  turn!" 

"Not  another  word.  We  stop  only  for 
horses,  and  ride  straight  after  them." 

"There's  no  need,  if  you're  set  on  this 
cruelty,"  he  answered,  hanging  his  head  like 
the  shamed  man  he  was.  "They  are  at  the 
149 


CHERRY 

tavern.  Mr.  Fentriss  promised  beforehand 
he  would  persuade  them  to  stop  there  for 
breakfast  and  recuperation.  But  surely  you 
won't  punish  us  so  hard  for  a  jest  which 
we  did  not  mean  should  include  you  or  be  of 
hurt  to  anybody;  and  for  my  part  I  was  only 
talked  into  it  after—" 

I  bade  him  be  silent,  and  sternly  drove  him 
on,  my  choler  mounting  higher  and  higher, 
not  lessened  by  imaginings  of  that  arch- 
hypocrite,  William,  reinstated  with  the  Grays 
by  this  false  rescue.  I  saw  him,  the  deceiver 
and  traitor,  receiving  the  adulation  due  a 
hero,  and  ensconced  in  shadowy  corners  with 
Miss  Sylvia  during  the  holidays,  while  I  was 
left  to  perform  the  unmerited  task  of  re 
newing  my  conversations  for  the  benefit  of 
the  aged  father  alone.  No!  A  thousand 
times  no !  William  Fentriss  was  in  my  power ; 
and  how  well  he  deserved  to  be  humbled  and 
exposed  for  all  time! 

There  sounded  a  call  from  ahead,  and  I 
was  aware  of  a  horseman  who  made  his  ap 
proach  at  a  rapid  gait.  Taking  off  his  hat 
150 


CHERRY 

with  a  flourish,  he  disclosed  to  our  eyes  the 
features  of  the  ribald  O'Donnell.  He  was 
mounted  on  his  own  horse,  his  saddle-bags 
betokening  his  intention  to  continue  his 
journey* 

He  hailed  the  innkeeper  with  a  shout: 

"We  missed  ye,  Hoag,  and  I  placed  me- 
self  at  the  head  of  a  reconnoitrin'  party, 
consistin'  of  meself,  to  look  for  ye.  Saints 
and  martyrs!  What  black  tatterdemalion 
have  ye  there?" 

He  squinted  his  eyes  and  stared  at  me, 
astonished. 

"Are  ye  captive  to  a  blackamoor,  or  are  ye 
just  to  win'  a  gentleman  got  up  for  a  mas 
querade?" 

"Pay  no  attention  to  him  or  you  suffer 
from  my  steel!"  I  said,  savagely,  to  Hoag. 
"Have  you  not  already  followed  the  ma 
levolent  advisings  of  the  meddlesome  and 
mischievous  to  your  present  undoing?  Con 
centrate  your  mind  upon  your  miseries, 
and-" 

"Be  the  gods  of  perdition,  'tis  me  little 
J5J 


CHERRY 

man!"  cried  O'Donnell,  reining  back*  "  Young 
Erasmus!  No!  Yes!  No!  Upon  me  soul, 
it  is,  it  is!  'Tis  that  marvellous  bird  a-driv- 
in*  our  quadruplex  Bacchus  be  force  and 
arms  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  and  as  dis 
figured  as  St.  Peter's  toe!" 

He  rode  up  beside  us*  "  What  in  the  world 
has  happened  to  ye,  me  Achilles?  And  what 
has  Hector  done  that  ye  drag  him  round  the 
walls  in  ignominy  and  disgrace?"  He  seemed 
utterly  taken  aback. 

44  Go  your  ways,  Captain  Blacknightl"  I 
answered,  grimly.  "And  be  glad  that  you 
escape  the  scaffold.  This  wretch  comes  with 
me  to  make  his  confession  to  the  unprotected 
old  man  whose  carriage  you  so  treacherously 
assaulted." 

"Ha,  ha!"  shouted  the  disreputable  Irish 
man.  "Is  that  the  tune  of  it?  And  so  ye 
weren't  abed,  after  all,  me  little  Achilles!  Sure 
I'd  like  to  be  stoppin'  to  see,  for  there'll  be 
warm  times  at  the  inn,  I'm  takin*  me  oath! 
Give  me  love  to  Mr.  Gray,  and  pass  him  me 
compliments  on  his  noble  powers  of  swearin', 
152 


CHERRY 

and  on  the  elegant  new  son-in-law  he's  gettin' 
for  a  Christmas  present !" 

"What  do  you  mean?"  I  demanded. 

"Sure,  one  of  ye  is  bound  to  be  selected," 
he  answered,  "and  I'm  thinkin'  that  same  '11 
take  place  this  very  mornin'.  Good-luck  to 
ye  both!"  he  concluded,  "and  God  help  the 
old  man!" 

Deigning  no  reply,  I  ordered  Hoag  to 
march  on,  offering  him,  if  he  did  not,  a 
thwack  from  the  cutlass,  but  the  Irishman 
urged  his  horse  across  our  path. 

"Beggin'  pardon  for  me  interferin'  dis 
position,"  he  said.  "Landlord,  me  reckon- 
in'  is  paid.  And  —  man,  do  ye  want  a 
rescue?" 

Hoag  only  shook  his  head  gloomily. 

"Then  I  wish  ye  a  merry  Christmas!"  cried 
O'Donnell,  wheeling  about.  "Come  to  see 
me  when  ye  visit  New  York,  Mr.  Sudgeberry. 
I've  some  friends  there  that  I  wouldn't  have 
miss  ye  for  the  world.  Merry  Christmas! 
The  merriest  Christmas  that  ever  was  to  ye 
both!" 

153 


CHERRY 

With  that,  laughing  in  utter  shamelessness, 
he  rode  away*  I  looked  to  see  him  stop  at 
the  inn  to  warn  Fentriss;  but  we  were  now 
close  on;  he  appeared  to  think  better  of  it,  so, 
with  a  wave  of  his  hand,  he  clapped  heels  to 
his  horse's  sides  and  was  gone* 

Smoke  came  pouring  out  of  the  chimneys 
of  the  tavern;  ruddy  fires  shone  through  the 
window-panes;  and  in  the  stable-yard  Mr. 
Gray's  chaise  (with  most  of  the  varnish 
knocked  off)  stood  waiting,  while  the  horses 
were  being  led  to  and  fro.  As  we  entered  the 
main  door  I  saw  that  everything  had  been 
made  bright,  clean,  and  cheery.  A  smug  bar 
maid  stood  ready  to  courtesy;  men-servants 
bustled  in  and  out,  bearing  steaming  dishes, 
or  ran  here  and  there  with  fresh  logs  of  fire 
wood;  for  the  knaves  had  learned  their  lessons 
well,  and,  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  their 
master,  had  fled  straight  from  the  assault 
to  the  inn,  where,  no  doubt,  they  had  greeted 
the  travellers'  tale  of  the  attack  with  the 
neatest  innocence  and  wonderment. 

The  landlord  exhibited  an  almost  violent 
154 


CHERRY 

reluctance  to  go  in,  but  I  overcame  his  objec 
tions  with  another  reference  to  the  law  and 
his  own  crime*  In  fact,  having  no  more  fear 
of  him,  from  the  moment  of  his  first  fright, 
than  of  a  calf,  I  gave  him  another  poke  with 
my  sword,  upon  which  his  resistance  collapsed 
utterly,  and  he  passed  in-doors  in  a  state  of 
piteous  dejection. 

At  sight  of  us  the  bar -maid  emitted  a 
scream,  and  covered  her  face  with  her  apron; 
a  man  carrying  a  great  platter  of  eggs  and 
bacon  dropped  it  to  the  floor;  two  other 
knaves,  variously  laden,  staggered  back  in 
consternation,  giving  way  before  us;  and 
without  more  ado  I  stepped  to  the  door 
of  the  room  in  which  we  had  supped  the 
preceding  evening.  It  stood  one -quarter 
ajar.  The  landlord  came  to  a  halt,  turn 
ing  his  head  to  me  in  a  last  mute  appeal 
to  proceed  no  farther,  and  I  paused  to  look 
within. 

The  scene  which  met  my  gaze  was  cosey, 
appetizing,  warmly  lit  by  the  fire  on  the 
hearth  and  by  the  long,  horizontal  rays  of  the 
J55 


CHERRY 

sun,  which  now  shone  red  on  the  windows. 
The  fresh,  white  cloth  sparkled  with  its  load 
of  cutlery  and  china.  Never  was  completer 
comfort  seen,  nor  three  cheerier  people  than 
those  who  sat  before  me. 

Mr.  Gray  was  ensconced  upon  one  side  of 
the  table,  applying  himself  heartily  to  a 
dish  of  cutlets,  while  opposite  him,  neglect 
ing  the  viands  before  them,  and  with  chairs 
whose  proximity  I  instantly  marked,  sat  that 
false  conspirator  and  Miss  Sylvia.  The  deep 
blush  which  suffused  her  brow,  as  she  heark 
ened  to  his  cooing,  was  near  the  color  of  the 
ribbons  she  wore,  for  her  travelling-cloak  was 
unclasped,  and  at  her  throat  I  caught  the 
flicker  of  those  cherry  ribbons  which  I  still 
so  strangely  remember — those  cherry  ribbons 
which  she  flaunted  both  this  winter  morning 
and  that  other  day  in  June. 

As  for  my  feelings  at  sight  of  the  happy 
party,  I  choked  with  indignation  and  just 
wrath  to  see  them  all  so  comfortable,  es 
pecially  the  villain  who  had  caused  the 
trouble.  He  looked  as  fresh  and  neat  as  if 
156 


CHERRY 

he  had  just  risen  from  an  honest  slumber 
on  a  Sabbath  morning,  while  I,  for  his  sins, 
must  needs  present  a  mere  wreck  to  the 
familiar  eye* 

The  pretended  paladin  was  gazing  at  Miss 
Sylvia  with  all  his  eyes,  as  if  so  hungry  for 
the  sight  of  her  he  meant  to  make  up  for 
months  of  absence  in  one  morning's  looking* 
Ayt  although  I  saw  that  attitude  for  but  an 
instant,  it  had  this  in  it,  and  more — some 
thing  which  brought  me  to  the  immediate 
conclusion  that  I  had  arrived  no  better  than 
just  in  time:  a  half-tremulous  smile  was  on 
his  lips,  the  smile  of  a  man  who  sees  coming 
to  him,  only  a  moment  or  an  inch  away,  the 
greatest  happiness  of  his  life* 

My  indignation  became  so  unbearable  that 
I  could  but  reach  out  and  prod  the  wretched 
Hoag  again,  which  (as  it  came  upon  him 
unexpectedly)  caused  him  to  give  forth  a 
vehement  cry  of  misery*  Then  I  flung  the 
door  wide  open,  urged  the  wailing  landlord 
before  me  by  flagellations  with  the  flat  of  my 
cutlass,  and  stood  upon  the  threshold* 
157 


CHERRY 

I  levelled  a  justly  vengeful  forefinger  at 
William  Fentriss,  and,  conquering  a  spell  of 
sneezing,  cried,  loudly, 

"Behold  a  perfidious  monster!" 


MR.  SUDGEBERRY  AND 
THE  CHERRY  RIBBONS 


T 


HE  three  occupants  of  the  room 
turned  toward  the  door  and  stared 
at  us  in  a  kind  of  paralytic  amaze 
ment  for  several  moments,  during 

which  my  renewed  sneezing  was  the  only 

sound  to  be  heard* 
It  was  Miss  Sylvia  who  first  recovered. 

She  rose  to  her  feet  with  a  slight  scream; 

Mr.  Gray  dropped  knife  and  fork  clattering 

upon  his  plate;  and  William  sprang  up  with 
159 


CHERRY 

a  sharp  exclamation.  It  was  a  sweet  sop  to 
my  rage  to  see  the  change  come  over  Mr. 
Fentriss  when  his  gaze  rose  to  the  disclosure 
of  his  Nemesis!  He  gave  a  wretched  look  at 
us,  which  took  in  the  broken  posture  of  the 
dilapidated  innkeeper,  my  tattered  nightcap, 
smeary  cheeks,  wrathful  brow,  and  the  cut 
lass;  and  in  the  stern  picture  he  read  his 
fate. 

He  staggered  back  against  the  wall  with  his 
hand  across  his  eyes,  as  if  a  sudden  vertigo 
had  seized  him.  Then  he  made  one  gesture 
of  intense  appeal,  seemingly  begging  to  be 
spared  the  humiliation  so  properly  in  store 
for  him;  but  as  he  saw  the  uselessness  of  it, 
his  arms  dropped  to  his  sides,  and  he  stood, 
with  head  fallen  and  shoulders  bowed,  like 
one  already  condemned  and  lost. 

I  advanced  into  the  room  with  a  solemn 
tread. 

"What  is  this?"  gasped  Mr.  Gray.  "An 
other  robbery?" 

"Behold  a  perfidious  monster!"  I  repeated, 
still  pointing  at  William  Fentriss  across  the 
J60 


CHERRY 

table.  At  the  sound  of  my  voice,  Miss  Gray 
shrieked  aloud. 

44 Heaven  defend  us!"  exclaimed  her  father. 
"Tis  that  Sudgeberry!" 

Miss  Gray  fell  back  in  her  chair  and  covered 
her  face  with  her  hands. 

"Ay,  old  man,"  I  answered,  in  a  fateful 
tone,  in  spite  of  the  before-mentioned  in 
firmity  of  pronunciation  which  forced  me 
to  address  him,  against  my  will,  as  "old 
bad,"  instead  of  "old  man,"  although  I 
had  then  no  desire  to  speak  harshly  to  him, 
"it  is  I!" 

"It  rs/"  he  cried.    "What  in  the  name—" 

44 1  am  come  to  defend  you,  white-haired 
and  credulous  old  man,"  I  continued,  rais 
ing  my  voice.  "I  am  come  to  defend  you 
from  the  embraces  of  a  monster  who  has 
played  upon  your  guileless  nature  and  upon 
that  of  this  innocent  maiden,  your  daughter, 
even  as  he  played  upon  his  villanous  musi 
cal  instruments  last  summer.  I  am  here  to 
expose  the  wiles  of  a  traitor  who  has  caused 
you  to  imperil  your  soul  by  your  profanity, 


CHERRY 

and  who,  by  unheard-of  trickery,  has  sought 
to  reopen  the  sacred  portals  of  your  house 
hold,  entrance  to  whose  honored  precincts 
a  persistent  misconduct  had  so  justly  for 
feited/' 

Instead  of  making  any  direct  reply,  the  old 
gentleman  stared  at  me  with  goggling  eyes* 
He  smote  the  table  a  blow  with  his  fist  so  that 
the  plates  jumped  and  clattered* 

" Jeremiah  and  the  prophets!"  he  cried* 
"It  was  born  in  him!" 

I  hope  this  tribute  may  have  been  not 
altogether  undeserved  (a  real  talent  for  the 
proper  spoken  or  written  rendition  of  thought 
being  always  to  some  degree  native) — at  all 
events,  I  did  not  stop  to  acknowledge  it  at 
the  time.  Instead,  I  again  levelled  my  finger 
at  the  completely  confounded  Fentriss.  "Do 
you  know  what  this  arch-villain,  this  arch- 
hypocrite,  perpetrated  upon  you  during  the 
watches  of  the  night?" 

"Know  what  he  did  for  us!"  exclaimed  the 
old  gentleman,  warmly;  "I  do  know  —  for 
God's  sake  take  off  your  nightcap!  —  I  do 
162 


CHERRY 

know  what  this  gallant,  this  heroic  youth 
has  done  for  us!" 

"Nay,"  quoth  L 

"He  saved  my  life  and  Sylvia's,  too,  and 
our  purses,  besides,  at  the  risk  of  his  skin!" 

"Nay,"  quoth  L 

"He  rescued  us  from  the  largest  and  blood 
iest  band  of  brigands  that  ever  took  the  road. 
Know  what  he  did  for  us!" 

"Nay,"  quoth  L 

"Nay!"  echoed  Miss  Sylvia,  her  eyes 
sparkling  exceedingly*  "Do  you  mean  to 
deny  his  heroism?  He  scorns  a  reply  and 
has  little  need  to  make  one,  seeing  that  my 
father  and  I  were  witnesses  to  what  he  did! 
So,  'Nay '  to  your  heart's  content,  Mr. 
Sudgeberry!"  Here  she  laughed,  then  went 
on,  somewhat  breathlessly:  "But  there  civas 
a  question  he  might  have  answered  long  ago; 
yet  would  not,  until  this  very  morning.  Can 
you  believe  the  wretch  would  be  so  proud? 
He  was  determined  not  to  satisfy  me  upon  it 
till  I  put  the  question  to  him  myself!  And 
that  was  because  —  so  he  swears  —  because, 
163 


CHERRY 

when  he  came  to  tell  me  without  questioning, 
I  refused  him  the  chance  and  ran  off  to  ride 
with  you,  instead.  Now,  see  if  you  can  help 
me  to  discover  whether  or  no  I  believe  this 
answer  of  his,  Mr.  Sudgeberry  " — she  laughed 
again — "though,  of  course,  'twas  a  very  minor 
point,  and  I  never  cared  about  it  or  gave  the 
affair  any  consideration.  The  impertinent 
declares  that  when  they  shouted  for  his  toast, 
at  that  wicked  supper  in  town,  he  would  not 
pronounce  a  lady's  name  where  some  were 
in  wine,  yet  would  not,  so  he  farther  swears  " 
— still  laughing,  she  blushed  the  deepest  I 
ever  saw — "would  not  drain  his  glass  to  any 
but  one,  and  so  took  for  his  toast  the  name 
of  that  one's  favorite  color.  Mr.  Sudge 
berry,"  she  asked,  her  eyes  sparkling  even 
more  than  before,  "would  you  believe  his 
explanation  if  you  were — that  one?" 

"Nay,"  quoth  I. 

"Mayhap  not,"  she  laughed,  "yet  I  vow 
she  finds  it  harder  to  forgive  his  pride,  which 
was  so  hateful  a  thing  that  he  waited  to  save 
her  life  before  he  would  explain  it!" 
164 


CHERRY 

"Nay,"  quoth  L 

"What!  What!"  rejoined  Mr.  Gray.  "Why, 
sir,  there  were  squadrons  of  'em,  and  single- 
handed  he  engaged  them  in  the  noblest  battle 
ever  fought,  and,  what  is  more,  he  beat  'em 
off,  like  the  lion  that  he  is!" 

"Nay!"  I  cried.  "Aged  man,  this  only 
shows  how  completely  you  are  his  dupe  and 
how  dangerously  you  are  deceived  in  him. 
Look  at  him!  Behold  the  shame  and  terror 
marked  upon  him!" 

I  pointed  to  Fentriss,  who  now  turned 
helplessly  away  from  every  glance,  his  face 
struck  white  with  pallor. 

"Thou  hypocrite!"  I  exclaimed,  addressing 
myself  to  him.  "Thou  hypocrite!  Tremble, 
for  thy  baseness  is  discovered  and  thy  folly 
proven.  Know,  to  thy  discomfiture,  that  the 
landlord  hath  confessed  his  own  villany,  to 
which  thy  wickedness  persuaded  him,  and 
stands  here  ready  to  tell  the  tale  to  this  trust 
ing  old  man  and  his  daughter.  Tremble  be 
fore  their  righteous  wrath,  and  prostrate 
thyself  before  mine.  Scorn  is  all  we  have 
J65 


CHERRY 

for  thee;  contempt  is  all  thy  portion!"  I  con 
cluded,  with  force  and  majesty,  despite  being 
forced  to  sneeze  almost  continuously. 

44 Heaven  save  us!"  said  old  Mr*  Gray, 
impatiently*  "What  is  all  this  folderol?" 

Miss  Sylvia's  laughter  had  ceased  abruptly: 
she  turned  to  William,  fixing  her  eyes  upon 
him  with  a  startled  look,  yet  one  which  re 
mained  steadfastly  upon  him;  nor  did  she 
take  more  than  a  sidelong  cognizance  of  me, 
but  from  this  moment  forth  remained  un 
waveringly  observant  of  William,  while  her 
blushes  faded  and  gave  way  to  a  pallor  which 
increased  till  it  matched  his  own.  He  was 
fully  conscious  of  that  earnest  regard  of  hers, 
though  he  dared  not  meet  it,  but  stood  almost 
with  his  back  to  her,  his  head  sinking  lower 
and  lower,  and  his  fingers  wandering  aim 
lessly  among  his  ruffles. 

There  was  a  long  silence;  then  she  asked, 
in  a  low  voice,  tremulous  but  clear: 

"What  is  your  accusation,  Mr.  Sudgeberry, 
if  you  please?" 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  what  would  you  be 
166 


CHERRY 

at,  man?*'  echoed  her  senile  parent.  "Out 
with  it!" 

I  began  with  a  few  brief  remarks  on  the 
nature  of  deception,  its  growth  and  fruits  in 
the  human  soul,  offering  some  general  allusions 
to  the  devastating  effects  of  the  art  when 
employed  upon  and  practised  against  in 
nocent  maidens  and,  especially,  aged  men, 
whereat  old  Mr.  Gray,  not  having  recovered 
from  the  shaking-up  of  his  nerves,  waxed 
very  impolite,  and  William  Fentriss,  with  a 
stifled  groan,  cried  out,  "For  God's  sake, 
man,  say  it  and  have  done!"  Forthwith,  I 
proceeded  to  go  over  the  events  of  the  night, 
exposing  in  its  entirety  the  diabolical  plot 
by  which  we  had  suffered  so  much,  and  I 
forced  a  corroboration  of  each  detail  from  the 
landlord,  who  squeezed  out  his  testimony 
with  extreme  reluctance,  groaning  and  apol 
ogizing  to  Fentriss  with  every  word. 

At  last  Mr.  Gray  broke  out  almost  in  a 

scream.    "Not  a  real  attack!"  he  vociferated. 

"No  genuine  battle!    You  are  mad,  Sudge- 

berry — mad  as  the  worst  in  Bedlam!    Why, 

167 


CHERRY 

sir,  the  sword-play  was  magnificent,  and  it 
sounded  like  a  dozen  blacksmiths  hammering 
upon  four  anvils  apiece;  while  as  for  the 
howling  and  firing — " 

"Tell  him,"  I  bade  the  landlord,  sternly, 
"tell  him  whether  it  was  or  was  not  a 
feigned  attack,  all  planned  to  harry,  and 
perhaps  injure,  himself  and  his  daughter,  in 
order  that  your  accomplice  yonder  might  gain 
their  favor  by  the  postures  of  a  hero/' 

"No,  no,"  protested  Hoag.  "There  was 
no  chance  any  one  should  be  injured  or  hurt; 
and  as  for  Mr.  Fentriss,  why,  it  was  a  wild 
thing  to  do,  I  admit,  but  every  one  who  is 
acquainted  with  him  or  his  reputation  knows 
very  well  that  where  the  danger  is  real,  he  is 
there  to  confront  it  twice  as  soon  as — " 

"Answer  the  question  and  no  more.  Was 
the  attack  feigned,  and  was  it  planned  by 
yon  crestfallen  youth?" 

"No  more  by  him  than  by  Mr.  O'Donnell, 
now.  Nay,  I  think  Mr.  O'Donnell  did 


more — " 


'Was  it  a  feigned  attack?"  I  interrupted, 
168 


CHERRY 

wrathfully.  "If  it  was  real  and  genuine, 
then  you  were  taken  red-handed,  and  it  is  a 
case  for  the  law  —  and  you  may  know  the 
end  of  that  for  you.  Answer  the  question!" 

"But  the  sword-play — "  Mr.  Gray  began. 

"Undeceive  this  trusting  man!"  I  com 
manded. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Hoag,  with  a  piteous 
glance  at  William,  "I — I — it  was  only  a  jest 
— we  no  more  than  made  a  noise,  once  we 
had  the  chaise  stopped,  and — and — " 

"Go  on,  sir!" 

"As  for  the  sword-play,  it  was  just  two 
up  and  two  down,  and  the  shooting  was 
only  powder  and  no  ball,  up  in  the  air,  too, 
and—" 

"Enough!"  I  exclaimed.  "And  now,  thou 
discovered  reprobate" — I  addressed  myself 
in  conclusion  to  Fentriss  —  "thy  perfidy  is 
known  to  all.  Go!  Hide  thy  head  in  some 
obscure  place  where  repentance  may  avail 
thee.  Go  in  shame  and  discomfiture,  and 
presume  not  to  return  where  the  eyes  of  this 
old  man,  his  daughter,  or  myself  shall  again 
169 


CHERRY 

behold  thy  deceptions,  or  our  ears  be  assailed 
with  thy  lies-  Go!" 

There  was  silence*  Mr,  Grayt  dazed,  with 
purple  face,  sank  into  a  chair,  breathing  hard. 
The  landlord  was  staring  at  the  floor  with  an 
uneasy,  hang-dog  look*  I  stood  with  folded 
arms.  Miss  Gray,  still  looking  steadily  at  my 
defeated  rival,  spoke  again  in  the  same  low, 
clear,  tremulous  voice. 

"Is  it  true,  Will?"  she  said. 

For  once  the  fellow's  impudence  had  utter 
ly  deserted  him.  His  chin  was  sunk  in  the 
lace  at  his  throat;  his  pallor  had  given  way 
to  the  fiery  blush  of  shame;  his  hand  trembled 
at  his  side.  A  discovered  trickster  has  ten 
times  the  anguish  of  a  detected  criminal,  and 
the  hopelessness  of  this  one's  attitude  bespoke 
a  pain  which  was  the  fit  punishment  for  all 
he  had  done. 

After  a  long  pause,  he  said,  brokenly, 

"Yes." 

"Why  have  you  done  it?"  she  asked. 

He  turned  toward  her,  and,  without  speak 
ing  or  even  raising  his  eyes,  lifted  his  hand 
J70 


CHERRY 

toward  her  in  a  slight,  uncertain  gesture,  and 
then  let  it  fall. 

"Oh!"  she  exclaimed,  as  sure  of  his  mean 
ing  as  if  he  had  spoken*  "You  dare  to  tell 
me  you  did  this  for  me!  You  chanced  killing 
the  horse-boys;  you  ruined  my  father's  chaise 
and  his  hope  of  salvation — according  to  Mr. 
Sudgeberry.  You  risked  frightening  me  to 
death — and  nearly  did  it!  Behold  the  con 
dition  to  which  you  have  brought  your  con 
federate,  the  landlord — and  look  at  what  is 
left  of  Mr*  Sudgeberry!  As  for  yourself,  you 
took  the  chances  of  what  has  happened  to 
you — detection  and  disgrace*  Mr.  Fentriss, 
do  you  dare  to  ask  me/'  she  cried,  raising  her 
voice — "do  you  dare  beg  me  to  believe  that 
you  have  committed  these  atrocities  for  me?" 

He  tried  to  speak  but  could  not;  he  only 
lifted  his  hand  again,  despairingly,  and 
dropped  it  to  his  side. 

"You  must  tell  me  better  than  that/'  said 
she,  going  very  close  to  him* 

He  raised  his  head  and  met  her  eyes  hum 
bly,  wretchedly*  For  once  not  an  ounce  of 
\1\ 


GMERRY 

jauntiness  was  left  in  htm;  every  vestige  of  his 
gay  bearing  was  gone;  even  desperation  had 
vanished;  and  only  despair  remained*  My 
vigilance  had  brought  him,  at  last,  to  the 
otter  humiliation  he  deserved,  and  he  afforded 
a  spectacle  wherein  I  read  some  pleasurable 
things  for  myself,  as  well  as  a  warning  ex 
ample  to  the  frivolous* 

"Yes/'  he  answered,  finally,  his  voice  shak 
ing,  "I  did.  I  would  have  done  more  than 
that— and  shall,  if  I  get  the  chance!" 

At  this  point,  precisely,  occurred  the  most 
astonishing  event  of  my  whole  life.  It  hap 
pened  with  a  necromantic  suddenness  that 
caused  me  at  first  to  think  my  eyes  gone 
wrong,  reproducing  a  distorted  and  unreal 
vision,  for,  all  at  once,  the  cherry  ribbons 
seemed  to  lie  on  William's  shoulder.  But 
mine  orbs  of  vision  were  not  distraught. 

The  lady  had  flung  herself  into  William's 
arms. 

"What!"  cries  she.  "Then  you  must  just 
have  me!  A  man  who  would  do  all  that  for 
a  kind  word  from  me  deserves  ten  thousand 

m 


CHERRY 

of  them  from  ten  thousand  times  a  finer 
creature  than  ever  I  shall  be!  Bat,  since 
you  want  me — " 

With  that  the  landlord  gives  a  whoop  and 
bolts  from  the  room.  I  sat  me  down  in  a 
chair  beside  Mr.  Gray.  He  seemed  quite 
helpless,  though  he  was  able  to  waggle  his 
head  and  make  some  weakish  whisperings, 
symbolic  of  his  darkened  mind,  with  his 
lips,  which  I  heard  as  one  hears  a  sound 
in  a  dream.  Miss  Gray  and  William  paid 
us  no  attention  whatever. 

"Nay,"  she  said  to  him,  with  a  tone  of 
raillery  so  tender  I  could  only  conclude  that 
she  had  been  bewitched,  "I  was  harsh  to 
both  of  us,  mayhap — a  little;  but  you  must 
never  dream  it  was  because  I  cared  about 
your  toasting  *  Cherry/  Tell  me  where  she 
lives,  Will." 

44  Wherever  Sylvia  Gray  abides,"  he  an 
swered,  "that's  where  'Cherry'  dwells,  my 
dear!  And  you  know  it  very  well." 

"Do  I?  In  truth,  it  did  come  over  me,  in 
a  way,  one  day  in  the  autumn  after  you  had 
173 


CHERRY 

gone.  Will,  that  perhaps  you  had  meant  me 
and  the  ribbons — but  I  don't  believe  it.  I'll 
never  believe  it,  new — " 

Here  William  interrupted  her. 

"Dearest  Cherry!"  he  said;  and  may  I 
be  relegated,  upon  my  decease,  to  the  un 
quenchable  conflagration,  if  he  did  not  kiss 
her  with  me  looking  on!  Her  father  was 
there,  too. 

I  pondered  upon  her  words.  She  said  he 
must  have  her  because  he  had  done  so  much 
to  get  her.  Now,  I  had  lost  my  sleep;  I  had 
spent  half  the  night  crawling  on  hands  and 
knees  through  the  cold  snow,  falling  into 
ditches  and  nigh  drowning;  devastating  my 
every  garment  on  a  prickly  hedge;  I  had  been 
shot  at  once  as  a  hippopotamus,  and  later 
fired  into  at  close  range,  my  nightcap  burned 
full  of  holes,  and  my  face  blackened  as  a 
negro's  by  the  discharge  of  a  bell-mouthed 
blunderbuss;  I  had  been  choked,  gagged, 
and  buried  in  snow;  the  heaviest  innkeeper  in 
the  colonies  had  leaped  hither  and  thither 
174 


CHERRY 

upon  me  and  had  sat  for  a  long  time  on  my 
head.  Heaven  knows  what  I  had  not  borne 
for  her  that  night  —  and  yet  she  said  that 
William  Fentriss  had  done  so  much  to  get  her! 
As  I  have  said,  there  are  some  questions 
upon  which  the  final  dictum  can  only  be, "  I 
do  not  understand/'  Thus  it  was  in  the 
present  instance.  The  whole  affair  was  so 
incomprehensible  as  to  bring  about  a  sort  of 
dizziness  in  me. 

i 

The  inexplicable  pair  turned  to  us  at  last. 

"Merry  Christmas,  gentlemen!"  cried  Fen 
triss,  while  Miss  Gray  greeted  both  her  father 
and  me  with  a  smile  of  incomparable  sauci- 
ness. 

"We  forgot  you  were  there!"  said  she. 

I  rose. 

"William,"  said  I,  "I  have  one  favor  to 
ask  you.  It  is  that  you  will  tell  me  why  you 
desired  my  society  on  this  journey." 

"I  thought  we  might  fall  in  with  them," 
he  replied,  waving  his  hand  toward  the 
others,  "and  I  thought,  if  we  did,  that  you 
175 


CHERRY 

and  Mr*  Gray  would  enjoy  each  other's 
comp — " 

It  happened  that  at  this  moment  Mr.  Gray 
recovered  his  voice. 

"William/'  he  exclaimed,  between  his 
daughter's  kisses,  for  she  had  sidled  over 
to  him  and  seated  herself  upon  his  knee, 
"I'll  never  forgive  you  as  long  as  I  live! 
Never !" 

At  this  opposition  to  their  marriage  I 
looked  to  see  the  couple  betray  signs  of 
distress.  On  the  contrary,  they  both  laughed 
merrily.  Next,  the  old  gentleman  reached 
out,  as  well  as  he  could  for  his  daughter's 
clinging  to  him,  and  laid  both  hands  on 
William's  shoulders. 

"William,"  he  said,  "you're  a  wild,  ran- 
tankerous  lad,  but  I  like  you,  and  I  am 
glad!" 

These  words,  directly  contradicting  what 
he  had  just  said,  and  all  expressions  of  his 
sentiments  aforetime,  were  so  extraordinary 
that,  what  with  them  and  Miss  Sylvia's  mar 
vellous  behavior,  and  the  cold  I  had  caught, 
176 


CHERRY 

my  head  spun  till  I  scarce  knew  if  I  stood 
on  my  feet  or,  inverted,  upon  it.  The  mys 
teries  of  the  morning  were  complete* 

For  the  first  time  (and  the  only  time,  I 
think  I  may  claim)  in  my  life,  I  was  non 
plussed  beyond  the  power  of  expression;  I 
was  incapable  of  speech;  what  is  more,  I  had 
nothing  whatever  to  say*  Without  a  word 
I  walked  toward  the  door*  As  I  did  so,  old 
Mr.  Gray's  jaw  fell,  and  he  broke  off  in  the 
middle  of  a  hearty  laugh  over  the  attack  on 
the  chaise  (which  he  now  appeared  to  re 
gard  in  a  humorous  light!)  and  began  to  look 
at  me  in  a  strange,  fascinated  way,  while  I, 
still  uttering  not  one  syllable,  bowed  silently 
to  each  of  the  three  and,  sneezing  slightly, 
left  the  room. 

After  I  had  shut  the  door,  I  heard  him  drop 
into  a  chair  and  gasp* 

I  was  so  bewildered  as  to  care  little  for 
one  more  mystery,  and  I  ordered  Hoag  to 
prepare  a  bed  for  me  in  another  part  of 
the  house,  for  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to 
complete  my  disturbed  slumbers  by  sleeping 
177 


CHERRY 

until  noon,  when  I  should  once  more  pro 
ceed  homeward,  upon  the  back  of  my  mis 
used  Jeremiah. 

Half  an  hour  later  I  found  myself  dropping 
off  to  sleep  between  the  warm,  dry  sheets, 
when  I  heard  the  chaise  galloping  out  of  the 
inn  yard,  and  William  and  Sylvia  and  the 
old  gentleman  sending  back  a  chorus  of 
Merry  Christmases  to  the  people  of  the  inn. 
Their  voices  rang  out  cheerily,  particularly 
Sylvia's — sounding  as  merry  as  the  silver 
chatter  of  the  sleigh-bells  that  now  began  to 
jingle  by. 

One  of  my  last  drowsy  thoughts,  before 
slumber  overcame  me,  was  that  I  had  been 
fortunate,  indeed,  not  to  have  carried  farther 
with  so  fickle  a  creature,  a  maiden  who  was 
overheard  confessing  her  affection  for  one 
man  in  August,  yet  threw  herself  (without 
any  expressions  of  regret)  into  the  arms  of 
another  on  Christmas  morning!  I  remem 
bered  with  symptoms  of  pleasurable  an 
ticipation  the  intelligent  and  appreciative 
Miss  Amelia  Robbins.  If  she  was  to  win 
J78 


CHERRY 

what    Miss    Sylvia's    eccentricity  had   lost, 
that  could  be  esteemed  no  fault  of  mine. 

I  omitted  to  repeat  my  customary  oration 
from  the  classics,  and,  as  I  drifted  com 
fortably  into  a  sound  slumber  to  the  jingle 
of  the  Christmas  sleigh-bells,  I  determined 
(in  spite  of  the  seeming  light-mindedness 
of  such  a  request)  that,  when  I  called  at  the 
Robbinses',  next  day,  I  would  ask  Miss 
Amelia  to  wear,  now  and  again,  a  bunch  of 
cherry  ribbons,  that  being  a  color  becoming 
to  women. 


THE   END 


BY  ROBERT  W.  CHAMBERS 


THE  MAID-AT-ARMS.  Illustrated  by 
Howard  Chandler  Christy.  Post  8vo, 
Ornamented  Cloth,  $i  50. 

Mr.  Chambers  has  long  since  won  a  most  en 
viable  position  among  contemporary  novelists. 
The  great  popular  success  of  "  Cardigan  "  makes 
this  present  novel  of  unusual  interest  to  all  readers 
of  fiction.  It  is  a  stirring  novel  of  American  life 
in  days  just  after  the  Revolution.  It  deals  with 
the  conspiracy  of  the  great  New  York  land-owners 
and  the  subjugation  of  New  York  Province  to  the 
British.  It  is  a  story  with  a  fascinating  love  in 
terest,  and  is  alive  with  exciting  incident  and  ad 
venture.  Some  of  the  characters  of  "  Cardigan  " 
reappear  in  this  new  novel. 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK  AND   LONDON 


above  work  will  be  sent  by  mail,  postage 
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BY  MRS.  HUMPHRY  WARD 


LADY  ROSE'S  DAUGHTER.  Illustrated 
by  HOWARD  CHANDLER  CHRISTY.  Post 
8vo,  Ornamented  Cloth,  $i  50. 

This  is  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward's  latest  novel.  It 
has  been  hailed  as  undoubtedly  her  best,  while 
Julie  Le  Breton,  the  heroine,  has  been  called  "the 
most  appealing  type  of  heroine  in  English  fiction." 

"A  story  that  must  be  read." — New  York  Sun. 

"Vividly  alive  from  the  first  line." — Chicago 
R  ecord-  Herald . 

"The  most  marvellous  work  of  its  wonderful 
author."— New  York  World. 

"Absolutely  different  from  anything  else  that 
has  ever  appeared  in  fiction." — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"Love  is  not  here  the  sentimental  emotion  of 
the  ordinary  novel  or  play,  but  the  power  that 
purges  the  weaknesses  and  vivifies  the  dormant 
nobilities  of  men  and  women." — The  Academy, 
London,  England. 

"Quite  sure  to  be  the  most  widely  and  most 
highly  considered  book  of  the  year." — Chicago 
Evening  Post. 

"The  story  is  the  combat  between  two  powers 
of  a  brilliant  woman's  nature.  Sometimes  you 
are  sure  the  lawless,  the  vagabond,  and  the  in 
triguing  side  will  win.  But  it  doesn't.  ..." 
— Boston  Transcript. 


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BY  ONOTO  WAT  ANNA 


A  JAPANESE  NIGHTINGALE.  A  love 
vStory  of  Japan.  Full-page  Drawings 
in  Color  and  unique  Decorative  Color 
Borders  on  every  page,  by  the  well- 
known  Japanese  artist  GENJIRO  YETO. 
Crown  8vo,  Ornamented  Cloth,  Deckel 
Edges,  Gilt  Top  (in  a  box),  $2  00  net. 

There  could  not  easily  be  a  more  charming  vol 
ume  to  look  at  than  this,  nor  a  more  delightfully 
appealing  romance  to  read. — New  York  World. 

An  idyl  of  the  author's  homeland,  delicate  in 
fancy  and  dainty  in  expression. — Public  Opinion. 

The  author  and  the  artist  together  have  pro 
duced  a  charming  work  of  art,  as  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  Japanese  spirit  as  a  bit  of  old  Satsuma. — 
Buffalo  Express. 

"A  Japanese  Nightingale  "  is  one  of  the  dain 
tiest  and  most  exquisite  of  love  stories ;  .  .  .  indeed, 
so  exquisite  is  her  art,  and  so  delightful  the  humor 
of  her  pages,  that  more  than  one  critic  has  spoken 
of  the  story  as  "A  Japanese  Kentucky  Cardinal." 
— New  York  Journal. 

It  is  full  of  poetry  and  charm — Current  Litera 
ture. 

A  delicious  vein  of  humor  runs  through  the  story, 
especially  in  the  love  scenes,  and  the  style  is  distinct 
with  the  lyrical  delicacy  of  Japanese  thought. — 
Brooklyn  Eagle. 

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BY  ANTHONY  HOPE 

THE  INTRUSIONS  OF  PEGGY.  Illus 
trated.  Post  8vo,  Ornamented  Cloth, 
$i  50. 

This  is  a  novel  with  the  interest  of  "  Zenda  " 
and  the  wit  of  the  "  Dolly  Dialogues."  It  is  a  story 
of  social  and  political  life  in  London.  A  young 
widow  goes  to  London  to  see  life  and  make  her 
way  in  the  social  world.  She  falls  in  with 
"  Peggy,"  a  most  interesting  character,  pretty, 
attractive,  ingenuous,  and  Bohemian.  They  meet 
with  many  adventures,  most  of  which  centre 
around  a  decidedly  novel  and  interesting  love  in 
terest.  Peggy's  "  intrusions  "  into  the  happiness 
of  herself  and  her  friends  is  one  of  the  motives  of  a 
novel  as  interesting  in  story  as  it  is  bright  and 
unusual  in  dialogue. 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK   AND   LONDON 


above  work  will  be  sent  by  mail,  postage 
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lOAl^DEfiS*  BOfi*°*ED 


LD 


U.U.  BtHKELtT  LIBRA 


M511985 


